Russian aggressors destroyed the old Polish church in Kyselivka

The More than Poland Foundation is involved in helping to save works of art and monuments in Ukraine.

We cordially invite you to cooperate – even the smallest amount is important.

Account number 45 1160 2202 0000 0002 7051 1460

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The Russian army destroyed the old Polish church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the village of Kyselivka (Kisielówka), Mykolaiv region, Ukraine.

– Russian tanks were firing, aiming to knock down the cross. The shells lie there to this day, Oleksandr Repin, the parish priest in Kyselivka, told PAP journalists.

Kyselivka is destroyed today, literally wiped off the face of the earth. It used to be a Polish village, which was founded in 1863 by Catholics from Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus. They were resettled here by the tsar’s order. Until 1905, the village was called Polackie. Before the Russian aggression against Ukraine, there were people with native Polish surnames among the inhabitants: Zaborowski, Sosunowicz, Piotrowski, Rafałowicz, Turczynowicz, Markowski, Zawadzki, Wiśniewski.

The destroyed church in Kyselivka is a historical monument. It was built in 1852-53. In the times of communism, it served as a repair base for a kolkhoz, but it was not destroyed. The parish was reborn only at the beginning of the 1990s and had about a hundred people at that time.

– Before February, that is, before the Russian attack, 50 people came to the church, all of them have Polish roots – says the parish priest in Kisielivka, Oleksandr Repin.

The parishioners saved some of the church’s possessions. They hid the holy paintings in the surviving outbuilding. The interior of the church, made partly of wood, was completely burnt down. The roof and wooden choir collapsed. The reconstruction of the historic church will be a big challenge. The More Than Poland Foundation is involved in such difficult tasks. Our goal is to help in the protection and conservation of the saved cultural monuments, as well as help in collecting funds for the reconstruction of the church in Kiselivka.

We cordially invite you to cooperate – even the smallest amount is important.

Account number 45 1160 2202 0000 0002 7051 1460

BIC/SWIFT: BIGBPLPW