Catholics accuse Ministry of Culture of negligence in damage to Kyiv church

Broken windows at St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv. Photo: Facebook page of the RCC community

Three months after a missile strike on Kyiv damaged St. Nicholas Church, the Catholic community is accusing Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture of negligence. According to a post on the church’s official Facebook page, the Ministry has failed to fulfill its promise to remove the hanging glass from the church’s Gothic towers, which is exacerbating the building’s damage.

“The longer the Ministry of Culture delays resolving the issue of returning St. Nicholas Church to the faithful, the closer we come to losing a piece of historical and cultural heritage and a landmark created by Władysław Horodecki,” said Fr. Pavlo Vyshkovskyi.

The community states that they themselves covered the stained glass and other damaged windows with polycarbonate after the strike, but the Ministry has taken no further action regarding the roof repairs or removal of hazardous glass, despite prior commitments. The community has now submitted a request to the National House of Organ and Chamber Music, which officially manages the building, asking for permission to carry out the necessary repairs on their own.

According to the parish, the Ministry’s inaction has led to water leaking through the roof, causing wooden structures and insulation to rot and threatening the preservation of this national architectural monument.

The community has been seeking the return of the church to the faithful for over 30 years and says it is ready to save the building with its own resources.

As previously reported, on March 13, 2025, the Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court ordered Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy to return St. Nicholas Church to the Roman Catholic Church.

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