Have you ever considered how fast a Russian missile could reach Paris, Berlin, or Brussels?

That morning of 4th September in Lviv, we didn’t just imagine  it – we lived through it. Before 5 AM, while many in Europe were  preparing for their day with coffee and breakfast, my 10-year-old  daughter ran into my room, terrified. A deafening sound rattled our  home. At first, I thought it was just the garbage truck, but soon  realized it was something far worse: Russian drones.

Within moments, my family and I huddled in the bathroom as  explosions shook the city. By 7 AM, the power was back on, but  for some, it did not matter. Russian hypersonic missiles had  destroyed homes and lives, including a family whose child had just  started at the renowned Ukrainian Catholic University, a campus visited just a few days ago by the outgoing president of the  University of Notre Dame.

Lviv, a city closer to Vienna or Berlin than to the front lines,  suffered devastation on that day. Seventy-one civilians were  directly affected, 188 buildings damaged, and seven UNESCO  heritage sites were struck. This is the kind of missile terror  Ukrainians across the country face daily, as Russia’s ground  losses push them to attack civilians instead. And we see it now  more often closer to cold winter.

It’s been a while since Lviv was targeted like this, but how many  more times will a city just 70 km from the EU border be struck? If  Ukraine falls, that is, if Ukraine is no longer a buffer between Russia and the civilized world, how long before these missiles hit  the heart of Europe? A Russian missile can reach Lviv in five  minutes. What happens if Putin decides to extend his campaign of  "denazification" to Europe.

We still have a chance. Ukraine is doing the work and holding the  line. Russians are unable to make significant advances on the  ground, and Ukrainian defenders have advanced on Russian soil  meeting little resistance. All Russia can do now is throw terrible  missile temper tantrums, and we could stop this with a simple  solution: Let Ukraine strike the bases from which Moscow attacks.  Give enough support to win, and not just not to lose.. Otherwise many more people will have mornings like we  experienced in September in Lviv