Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week our focus is the humanitarian apocalypse unfolding in Ukraine and we are aligning ourselves with an Amnesty International letter writing campaign protesting attacks on civilians directed at Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov.

We are also asking for contributions to Episcopal Relief and Development to aid refugees from Ukraine.

A week ago on Friday morning, an air strike (detailed below) hit a preschool in Okhtyrka, Ukraine, killing a child and two civilians who were taking shelter inside. There is no possible justification for dropping explosive weapons on a school. Right now, we need to come together to do what we do best — apply pressure and protect civilians caught in the crossfire.

Amnesty International has documented several incidents¹ where the Russian military has used indiscriminate weapons in populated areas:

1. Three attacks were carried out in the early hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, in Vuhledar, Kharkiv and Uman. At 10:30 am local time, a ballistic missile struck near a hospital building in Vuhledar, eastern Ukraine, killing four civilians and wounding ten more. Another of the attacks was carried out at approximately 8 am local time, in the Kharkiv region. The likely target was the nearby Chuhuiv Air Base, but instead Russian weapons struck a residential block, causing extensive fire damage and apparently killing at least one civilian man and injuring at least two civilian women. In another attack occurring at 7 am in Uman, a civilian man appears to have been killed by a strike that also damaged a nearby restaurant.
2. One day after, on the morning of February 25, a preschool in north-eastern Ukraine was hit with widely-banned cluster munitions while civilians took shelter inside, killing three of them, including a child, and wounding another child. The attack appears to have been carried out by Russian forces, which were operating nearby, and which have a record of using cluster munitions in populated areas. Amnesty International has confirmed that a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast, where local people were seeking safety from the fighting.

Let’s get this straight, for the record — claims by the Russian government of using “precision guided weapons” are FALSE, and Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab is collecting video and photographic evidence to prove it. Their teams have verified that this is the fourth attack in this conflict that has struck a school.

“While I was walking down [with] my wife, there were immediate explosions,” an older man told us over the weekend. “You see, everyone is covered with blood, everything. Look at it… it kills me the fact it’s a kindergarten. What’s this they shoot at? At military objects? Where are those?”

Right now, millions of people around the world are raising their voices to denounce attacks on civilians. We must keep up the pressure. We want to inundate Russian Ambassador Antonov with messages so that he’ll have to report concern back to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — which will be one more grain of sand on the scales of pressure to stop President Putin from using indiscriminate weapons and attacking civilians.

It’s easy to feel powerless at a moment like this. The truth is, it’s more important than ever to speak up. We have a crucial role to play: ensuring that the world stays focused on protecting human rights, and stopping human suffering. We must continue to demonstrate our strength and solidarity with Ukrainians in the weeks and months ahead. And make sure the Russian government knows that it will face accountability for its violations and abuses.

[1] https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/russian-military-commits-indiscriminate-attacks-during-the-invasion-of-ukraine/

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/cluster-munitions-kill-child-and-two-other-civilians-taking-shelter-at-a-preschool-in-ukraine/

Options to Take Action:

1. 1. Sign a letter at the Action Table.
   2. Download a PDF copy of the Action Letter adapted for individual use, sign it and mail.
      
   3. Send a message at the Amnesty International website.
   4. Contribute to Episcopal Relief and Development.

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