How to Help Victims of the War in Ukraine
Photo by Max Kukurudziak / Unsplash.
This originally ran in the Fathom newsletter on February 27, and has been updated here. If don't subscribe to our newsletter, please sign up for it; we often publish exclusive content there.
The world watched in horror as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday in an unjust land grab that recalls moves more common to centuries past than a post-World War II European political order.
Ukrainians are fighting back, not only against Russian troops but also against the fake news being disseminated by Russia's sophisticated disinformation machine. If you missed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's defiant "we are here" video message, it's one to watch. This is an incredible example of what Thomas L. Friedman wrote in his New York Times opinion piece Friday: "this war has no historical parallel."
The pandemic taught us how interconnected the world is, how a ripple across the globe can have devastating consequences in our backyard. Still, it you're thinking that this crisis won't impact you, you might change your mind after listening to The Indicator's two brief podcasts: How the Ukraine crisis could affect your pocketbook and Three Russia economic indicators.
It's heartening to see the world so unified — nearly unanimously — in its opposition. Ordinary citizens are marching and demonstrating to show solidarity and support for Ukraine. Governments and companies are severing ties to isolate Russia both economically (freezing Russian assets held in foreign banks, excluding Russia from the SWIFT banking system) and practically (European countries, including former Soviet republics Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have closed their airspace to Russian flights).
We stand alongside the global network of Russians who are protesting the invasion through marches and demonstrations. And we're nearly speechless with admiration for those doing so in Russia, thousands of whom have been arrested, because egomaniacal despots and dictators don't like to be defied.
How to Help
A refugee crisis is already unfolding, as hundreds of thousands are fleeing to safety in neighboring countries. (We've seen news reports that refugees who are people of color are not being welcomed, though other reports dispute this.)
There are many ways to help. If you'd like to donate to humanitarian efforts, these verified charities are helping displaced Ukrainian families and refugees as well as offering on-the-ground support.
- UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
- IRC, International Rescue Committee
- Razom, which works to promote democracy in Ukraine, has a great list of ways to help and get involved.
- Global Giving
- Hope for Ukraine
- Vostok SOS
- Doctors Without Borders
- International Medical Corps
- The Return Alive Foundation supports the Ukrainian Army