Today, we call on Londoners to dig deep and give to our appeal for Ukraine. The deliberate cruelty wrought by Vladimir Putin’s war machine may be unfathomable to most, but for Ukrainians it is simply a matter of fact. Hospitals, schools and churches bombed. It is also freezing cold as people go without water, heating and shelter.
We remember the image of the pregnant woman, lying on a stretcher amid a sea of destruction, which featured on front pages around the world following Russian shelling of a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol. Both she and her unborn baby subsequently died, the image of a war in which innocent civilians are bearing the brunt.
But pictures cannot do justice to the horror of this war. The scenes of devastation in Mariupol, Kharkiv and Irpin, the hitherto quotidian lives transformed beyond recognition. Ukrainians — both those who have managed to flee and those who remain — need our help.
Cash is critical. Aid workers say it is the most direct way to help provide those with the essentials they need to stay alive and purchase essentials such as medication, clothes and toiletries.
The Evening Standard’s Ukraine Appeal — which has passed £100,000 in donations — is supporting the Red Cross and other charities through the Disasters Emergency Committee to get money and help to Ukraine. Thank you to our readers for your generosity.
And as the Government launches its Homes for Ukraine scheme, we expect Londoners to be at the front of the queue in opening their doors to those in need.
