Jul 8

Jul 8 OKHMATDYT Bombing

Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations

“Who will save the war child, baby?
Who controls the keys?
The web we weave is thick and sordid

War child
Victim of political pride
Plant the seed, territorial greed
Mind the war child”

— War Child, The Cranberries, from To the Faithful Departed (1966)

“I woke up with the power out
Not really something to shout about . . .

Light a candle for the kids
Jesus Christ don’t keep it hid! . . .

You ain’t foolin’ nobody
With the lights out!”

— Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Arcade Fire, from Funeral (2004)

Tonight, Chicago’s Ukrainian Community once again proved that they are amazing. When I turned on CNN at 6:30 AM this morning (or maybe it was 5:30 AM), the video said it all. The Russians had waged a bombing campaign against five Ukrainian cities—Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rhi, Slovyansk, and Kramtorsk. Vladimir Putin must have thought he was sending a message in blood to NATO, which convenes in Washington, D.C. to commemorate its 75th Anniversary tomorrow. Ukraine is on the agenda.

Ukrainian air defenses had to shoot down 38 missiles to achieve a 100%-success rate. Given the ferocity of the Russian barrage, eight of those missiles evaded Ukrainian air defenses. According to early reports, most, if not all of the missiles were directed at civilian rather than military targets. Russian President Vladimir Putin knows no shame, as he continues to wage his reign of terror.

In total, the attacks killed 27 people. At least 170 people were injured. Shockingly, a long-range Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile hit Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, killing two people and injuring at least 16. Exact totals won’t be known until rescuers sift through the debris. The hospital was destroyed.

Some 600 patients were evacuated from the hospital, which performed over 7,000 surgeries each year and included oncology and dialysis departments. Imagine evacuating children with IV drips streaming cancer-fighting drugs into their little bodies—some now bloodied and mangled.

The Russians will undoubtedly claim that the Okhmatdyt strike was an accident despite all the evidence to the contrary. In all likelihood, the missile was pre-programmed with the hospital’s GPS coordinates. Video footage shows that the missile sustained no damage as plunged into the hospital. None of Ukraine’s air defense systems even nicked the missle, which might have caused it do deviate from its original trajectory.

Shortly after I saw the CNN report, Lillia Popovych, who was awarded a medal by President Zelensky for her service to Ukraine, must have bolted into action. Popovych is the brains behind many of the visual spectacles that the Ukrainian Community has staged over the last 30 months in support of their compatriots back in the homeland. By 9:30 AM, my Instagram feed included a post announcing an emergency demonstration in front of the Wrigley Building on Michigan Avenue at 6:00PM.

I expected 75 to 100, which matched the headcount when I arrived at the Wrigley Building Plaza shortly before the announced start time. Traffic was gridlocked, in large part because the city had not yet completely opened DuSable Lake Shore Drive and surrounding streets, which had been closed for much of the weekend to accommodate the NASCAR Chicago Race. But a traffic jam does not dissuade a determined Ukrainian from turning out.

By 7:00 PM, as the group lined up for the traditional march to Jane Byrne Plaza (site of the Water Tower that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871), there were over 500 demonstrators walking behind the lead banner. Quite the turnout for a muggy Monday evening following the four-day weekend.

For the most part, the speeches that preceded the march broke no new ground, but were still impassioned. One of the last speakers, Pavlo Bandriwsky should be on the radio. In sonorous tones, Bandriwsky captured the anger that everyone standing in the plaza felt deep within themselves. He demanded the end of Putin’s reign, more aid for Ukraine, and the lifting of the constraints imposed by the United States on Ukraine’s limiting Ukraine’s ability to attack Putin’s war machine on Russian territory. In addition to those frequent refrains, the other speakers also called on NATO to condemn the Okhmatdyt attack during this week’s summit and for the UN to act.

France and Ecuador requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting following the attack. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, but whether it will produce any meaningful action is open to question because as of July 1, Russia holds the Security Council presidency.

If the world is lucky, U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson’s ghost will hover above the emblematic circular table in the Security Council’s chamber. At the height of the 1961 Cuban Missile Crisis, Stevenson challenged Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin, producing the following memorable exchange, one of the most notable ones in diplomatic history:

All right, sir, let me ask you one simple question: Do you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the U.S.S.R. has placed and is placing medium- and intermediate-range missiles and sites in Cuba? Yes or no—don't wait for the translation—yes or no?

(The Soviet representative waited for translation, then responded.)

"This is not a court of law, I do not need to provide a yes or no answer..." (was cut off by Mr. Stevenson at this point) *Source United Nations Assembly video archives.

You can answer yes or no. You have denied they exist. I want to know if I understood you correctly. I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that's your decision. And I am also prepared to present the evidence in this room.

In less diplomatic terms, Stevenson demanded that Zorin cut the bullshit. Hopefully the United States and Ukraine will make the same demand tomorrow.

Returning to 2024 and the streets of Chicago, the signage on display today was as impressive as the turnout. Within hours, the Ukrainian Community had created professional-quality signage that included striking artwork. And what about the photographs of the injured children attached to many of the signs? I asked several people whether those photographs depicted today’s attack. “Yes,” I was told, “they are from the Okhmatdyt attack. Sometimes the Internet is a tool for good.

Not surprisingly, there were plenty of DIY signs, handwritten using Sharpies on corrugated cardboard. All prepared with heart.

The Ukrainian Community also brought its not so secret weapon. Anyone who is protesting the bombing of a children’s hospital best bring children along—Exhibit A. The kids were out today, and they were alright. I did see a couple of playful games of tag, but I also saw two six-year olds chanting, “Russia is a terrorist state.”

One boy held a sign reading “Today Russian Dropped Bomb on Children My Age!!!!,” with a photograph of an injured child, presumably from today’s attack. Nothing like the juxtaposition of an otherwise happy kid with photographs of wounded children to drive the point home. Some of the mothers wore blood-spattered hospital scrubs, which didn’t hurt, either.

As many demonstrators drifted away, I headed to Starbucks for a trenta-sized black iced tea. I sat in the Hancock Tower Plaza for at least 40 minutes soaking in the summer evening. When I finished, I headed to Water Tower Place bus stop one block away. There, I ran into three demonstrators, one carrying a sign. I asked whether they had just left what remained of a demonstration that I had assumed ended a 30 minutes ago. All three indicated that they had just left, reflecting extreme dedication to the mission.

Popovych, all those who helped out, and the Ukrainian Community offered a textbook example of how to stage a pitch-perfect demonstration.

Post Script: Here is an update issued on July 9, 2024 by the United Nations.

[I generally don’t take positions regarding the events I cover. I make an exception for Ukrainian and anti-Putin Russian demonstrations. There is only one correct viewpoint.]

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]