The first shipment of aid from Caritas of the Krakow Archdiocese arrives in Kyiv

“Today we witnessed a very beautiful meeting. The first batch of aid collected by Caritas of the Krakow Archdiocese has arrived. This is only the beginning of a massive solidarity campaign from Poland for people in need in Kyiv,” noted the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

According to him, this support is crucial given the winter cold and constant attacks on the capital’s energy infrastructure.

“This solidarity is the light of our hope. Poland and Ukraine are fighting together for our victory,” emphasized the Primate of the UGCC.

Fr. Łukasz Slusarczyk, director of Caritas of the Krakow Archdiocese, who personally delivered the aid, assured that this is only the first step. The organization plans to continue responding promptly to the needs of Kyiv and other affected regions.

Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy shared details regarding the received assistance: “The first batch includes 162 electric generators and 846 electric heaters. In the very near future, this aid will be handed over to the residents of the Troyeshchyna district in Kyiv, which has suffered the most from attacks on the thermal power plant.”

“People there have no electricity, no heat, and no light. Therefore, we received the aid today, and tomorrow we will be distributing it to those in need,” the priest emphasized.

During the meeting, His Beatitude Sviatoslav also informed Fr. Łukasz about the Church’s cooperation with the Kyiv city authorities. In particular, the Head of the UGCC spoke about a morning conversation with Mayor Vitali Klytschko regarding critical challenges for the capital amid forecasts of severe frosts reaching −25 °C. In this context, the generators and heaters are “extremely timely and necessary aid.”

Fr. Łukasz Slusarczyk noted that the aid initiative emerged almost immediately after the conversation between His Beatitude Sviatoslav and Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś.

“After receiving information about the situation in Kyiv, the Cardinal addressed a letter to all parishes of the Krakow Archdiocese. The call was heard immediately,” he said, adding, “We also need a word of hope from Ukraine, so that we do not grow weary in our assistance to you.”

As a reminder, a letter from Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś regarding an archdiocese-wide fundraiser for Kyiv, to be held on February 1, was previously read in all parishes of the Krakow Archdiocese. The collected donations are planned to be used for the purchase of high-power generators and mobile boiler rooms to provide heat and autonomous lighting for people suffering most from the cold. Cardinal Ryś is personally donating the first generator.