Last February Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, killing innocent civilians and ruthlessly destroying homes, schools, and hospitals.
Bells for Ukraine is a primal call to action. One bell rings every time a civilian is killed; another rings every time a solder is killed; and the third rings every time a Ukrainian refugee flees across the border. They ring to remind us of the crisis going on in Ukraine.
The bells are automatically triggered when websites* that track Civilian Casualties, Troop Casualties and Refugees update their numbers, up to four times a day.
We have all seen images and read stories about the devastation - individuals struggling to save themselves and their families from bombs, missiles, tanks and bullets. Ukraine is a country struggling to survive.
Ukrainian children and grandparents, the most vulnerable, struggle on a daily basis to find food and water, to keep warm and to stay alive.
Credit: AP From the US Sun covering a Russian airstrike that destroyed a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 10,2022
Credit: A Ukrainian soldier carries a baby helping a fleeing family to cross the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Russia continues its brutal assault.
We are tragically getting accustomed to the constant news about the death and suffering in Ukraine. With daily reports, we have news fatigue. These bells are broadcasting the urgency of this war and hope to inspire awareness and action. What can you do to help? Below are charities and organizations you can support.
Call to Action
Donate
You can support those who are on the ground and equipped to bring aid:
WCK brings hundreds of thousands of daily meals and food kits to over 2,000 distribution sites including recently liberated cities, isolated communities where there is little to no other humanitarian assistance, locations supporting displaced families, and neighborhoods caught in the crossfire of the invasion.
This organization has expanded its relief efforts inside Ukraine in response to the war there, as well as in neighboring countries, to provide medical, mental health and protection services to the millions of people affected by the conflict, including refugees.
It has been almost a year since the war in Ukraine escalated, uprooting children and their families and turning day-to-day life into an unimaginable struggle. Intensified attacks on critical urban infrastructure in October destroyed 40 percent of the nation's power plants, leaving children to face the extreme winter cold without heat or electricity. Full-scale attacks continue across the country.
UNICEF is also providing heating and fuel for schools, along with generators and heat pumps for hospitals. More help is needed: UNICEF stands with the children of Ukraine and will continue working with partners to support them through the war and beyond.
Access to health care has been difficult for people living along the contact line of the conflict in eastern Ukraine since fighting intensified in the region in 2014. Prior to the escalation of war across Ukraine in February 2022, Doctors Without Borders ran a range of activities, including programs for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV care. They started new projects in Donetsk and Luhansk, while continuing to support the national COVID-19 response. Now they have had to halt normal activities and are carrying out an emergency response.
Sponsor Refugees
A resource to guide you in joining the national effort to welcome refugees fleeing their homelands as they begin the journey to build new lives in the United States. The U.S. government has announced Uniting for Ukraine (below). People fleeing the war in Ukraine can apply to come to the U.S. with the support of a sponsor. That could be you!
Ukrainians and potential American sponsors can find each other, message back and forth, and make an informed decision about sponsorship. This is a part of the Welcome.US program.
After they connect on Welcome Connect, sponsors and Ukrainians can apply for the Uniting for Ukraine (below) program together.
On April 21, 2022, the United States announced a key step toward fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Uniting for Ukraine provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a 2 year period of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay in the United States.
The Welcome Corps is a new service opportunity for Americans to welcome refugees seeking freedom and safety and, in turn, make a difference in their own communities. Together, sponsor groups welcome refugee newcomers by securing and preparing initial housing, greeting refugee newcomers at the airport, enrolling children in school, and helping adults to find employment. You already have the most important skill you need to succeed—knowledge about daily life in your community. Experts will be there to guide you each step of the way.
Beginning in mid-2023, the Welcome Corps will expand to allow private sponsors to identify refugees in need of protection whom they wish to sponsor and refer refugee applicants for consideration to the USRAP, subject to program criteria established by the U.S. government. Further information on this program expansion will be made available in the coming months. State Dept fact sheet
Support Legislation
S.4392 - Ukraine Security Partnership Act
This bill contains provisions related to U.S. support for Ukraine.
The Department of State shall report to Congress a strategy on (1) using diplomacy to support Ukraine, and (2) encouraging other countries to donate excess defense equipment to Ukraine. The State Department shall also establish a U.S.-Europe Working Group on Ukraine.
The President shall appoint a Special Envoy for Ukraine, who shall engage in diplomatic activities related to the peace process between Ukraine and Russia and dialogue with countries in the Black Sea region.
The bill also authorizes the State Department for FY2021-FY2025 to (1) provide grants and loans to Ukraine for acquiring U.S. defense equipment and services through the Foreign Military Financing program, and (2) provide training for Ukraine's military through the International Military Education and Training program.
H.Res.802 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)
This resolution
expresses support for increased U.S. assistance to Ukraine and the integration of Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
condemns Russia’s military incursions and ongoing malicious activities toward Ukraine;
reaffirms opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Russian threats to U.S. energy security, and
calls upon the U.S. government and its allies to continue to pressure Russia and uphold its international obligations towards Ukraine.
Bells for Ukraine currently located at:
15100 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20905
The Bells
The bells chime as a frequent reminder of the death and destruction caused by the escalation of the Russian war on Ukraine. It is a regular reminder of the genocide, abduction, and destruction of Ukraine and its people.
The bell tower contains a program that is triggered when a website that tracks Civilian Casualties and Troop Casualties is updated *. These updates occur every six hours and cause the bells to ring. There is a bell for Civilian Casualties, Troop Casualties and Refugees.
The Refugee information comes from the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) which is updated weekly.
* CitationsCivilian and Troop Casualty information:Zhukov, Yuri (2022). "VIINA: Violent Incident Information from News Articles on the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine." Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Center for Political Studies. (https://github.com/zhukovyuri/VIINA, accessed regularly.
Refugee information:UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, Operational Data Portal (https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine)