The humanitarian kitchen run by chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen in Ukraine was destroyed during a Russian missile attack Saturday, Andres said. Four members of his team were injured in the city of Kharkiv. Nate Mook, World Central Kitchen’s chief executive, shared a video of the damage.
“An update I hoped I’d never have to make. I’m at a [World Central Kitchen] restaurant in Kharkiv, where less than 24 hours ago I was meeting with their amazing team,” Mook tweeted Saturday, adding a video with damaged buildings and cars behind him. “Today, a missile stuck. 4 staff were wounded. This is the reality here – cooking is a heroic act of bravery.”
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Andres retweeted Mook’s clip, calling everyone at the humanitarian kitchen “food heroes.” He was relieved that only four people were wounded. “We are [Food Fighters] but the Russian attacks must stop against civilian buildings and markets and churches and schools etc.,” Andres shared.
Mook later published a video of the team salvaging what survived and taking the food to another kitchen in Kharkiv. He assured everyone that the injured staff is “doing well” and the team wants to continue cooking for Ukrainians still in the damaged city.
During Sunday’s episode of Face the Nation, David Beasley, the executive director of the UN’s World Food Program, told the CBS News show he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is purposefully making it difficult for humanitarian groups to get food to Ukrainians. “We’re reaching millions of people, us and all of the partners in the international community here inside Ukraine,” Beasley said. “But there are places that we can’t reach, like in Mariupol, in other places where Russian forces have besieged the city and are not allowing us the access we need. If we get the access, if we deconflict these access points, we can reach every single person that is suffering, struggling for food right now.”
Beasley said there was “no question” Putin was using food access as a weapon. “I know it’s heartbreaking because why in the world would you deny people access to food? Innocent victims of war,” he said. “And this is what the World Food Programme is all about. We want to reach the innocent people. We want to be impartial. We want to be neutral, and we want to reach the people who are in need. Give us that access that we need.”
Andres founded World Central Kitchen in 2010 to provide meals for people after natural disasters, beginning with the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Andres’ organization earned worldwide attention after the organization’s quick response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. The group has reportedly provided 5 million meals to Ukrainian refugees and citizens still suffering in the country.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, creating the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Over 4.8 million Ukrainians have left the country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. During an interview with CNN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country is unwilling to give up eastern territory to Russia.
“I don’t trust the Russian military and Russian leadership,” Zelensky said. “That is why we understand that the fact that we fought them off and they left, and they were running away from Kyiv – from the north, from Chernihiv, and from that direction – it doesn’t mean if they are able to capture Donbas, they won’t come further towards Kyiv.”
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