On July 8th, a wave of over 40 missiles spread across Ukraine, marking another of Russia's indiscriminate mass attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.

While missiles were falling on the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv, 300 miles away, another hospital, the University Hospital in Dnipro, was struck. This hit close to home for Insulate Ukraine; Insulate Ukraine workers were at the hospital on July 8th.

July 8th was the first day of what would soon become the organization’s largest single infrastructure project to date. The hospital had been struck before, on July 3rd and multiple times during the fall and winter of 2023. When the missiles arrived on July 8th, IU’s Nikopol team was on the 5th floor assessing damage from those previous strikes.

By the time the dust had settled, the team, thankfully safe, had 250 more windows to add to the repair list. The project had become a 500-window job.

Insulate Ukraine was handpicked by the hospital specifically because it had been hit so many times. The strike on July 8th was proof positive of their product’s need at the facility.

The hospital had repaired their windows with glass before, only to see the newly repaired windows shattered by subsequent strikes. Glass replacements were fruitless. With cold and damp OSB board coverings, the hospital was in need of an alternative solution. They found Insulate Ukraine. This is what their product is made for: buildings that need to operate despite their proximity to active shelling. Places that need a safe, insulating, weatherproof window that can be easily refitted after a blast. Places that need an IU window.

The project would take over 1 month to complete, with the workers staying in a modest public dormitory. They spent their evenings cooling off in the river, playing songs, and cooking meals.