World Central Kitchen Was Hit By A Russian Airstrike. Here's What We Know So Far
"Right here is the kitchen area," Nate Mook of World Central Kitchen said in a video he posted to Twitter on April 16, pointing to a shelled building behind him. He explained that the night before, a Russian missile had struck the area surrounding Yaposhka, a restaurant in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that had partnered with World Central Kitchen to feed civilians. Several kitchen volunteers were wounded, and at least two others were killed in the attack, reports The New York Times.
One Twitter user asked Mook if the nonprofit had been targeted by Russian forces specifically, but chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés stepped in to dismiss the idea. "We are in sooo many places that chances % are just higher....that's all," he explained, referring to the organization's several kitchen sites in Ukraine and neighboring countries. Additionally, as The Guardian reported at the end of March, Kharkiv had already earned the designation of being the second most shelled city in Ukraine after Mariupol. In another tweet, Andrés seemed to confirm that World Central Kitchen would continue its activities in Ukraine despite the casualties but added, "Russian attacks must stop against civilian buildings and markets and churches and schools etc."
World Central Kitchen continues its mission
José Andrés has been bringing aid to the people of Ukraine since February, when Russia first invaded the country — and his World Central Kitchen team will continue to do so. Nate Mook followed up his Twitter video with an update saying that all undamaged food and equipment was being moved to another kitchen site. Furthermore, he said, the injured staff members are making a good recovery, and the rest of the team wants to move forward with their efforts to feed Ukrainian refugees and those in hiding. "The work doesn't stop!" Mook said.
The team's resolve was shown when Mook visited the injured Yaposhka partners in the hospital, where they seemed to be cheerful. A staff member named Yulia "said she's excited to come back to help feed 1000s once her burns heal," he tweeted. "True heroes!" World Central Kitchen, as described on its website, has distributed roughly 300,000 meals in Ukraine per day since the Russian invasion.