Bishop of Kharkiv: Schools are targeted

According to a local churchman, schools, kindergartens and other civic facilities in Kharkiv, Ukraine are being hit by rockets. “Anyone who still clings to the idea that Russia is only bombing military installations is deluding themselves,” says Cathebris in a letter from Roman Catholic Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk to Catholic Aid International Helping the Church in Need.

Many children are still in the city and are staying in shelters from the air raids. They live in a parallel world and often cannot understand what is happening around them.

Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine and is located about 20 kilometers from the front. At least 20 schools have been destroyed so far, according to Honcharuk, head of the Kharkiv-Zaporizia diocese.

The clergyman also spoke to the aid agency about “filter camps” in the regions occupied by Russia, where people were sometimes arbitrarily detained. “If someone has something against a woman, he suspects against her.” She is then immediately arrested and separated from her children.