Kharkiv is hit almost weekly. The cathedral has lost windows three times and the heating twice. We are rebuilding both to a standard that expects the next strike.

The Dormition Cathedral stands above the old centre of Kharkiv, a city that has lived under sustained missile and drone attack since 2022. The cathedral’s own damage follows the city’s: blast-wave windows, a cracked north wall, a boiler room that has been repaired and destroyed twice.

This phase is deliberately unglamorous. Blast-resistant glazing with internal storm panels. A modular heating plant that can be isolated and swapped in a day. Tie rods and monitoring on the north wall. The aim is a building that stays usable through the next winter and the next attack.

Work is scheduled around services. The lower church has remained open throughout, and the parish kitchen serves 300 meals a day.

Scope of works

• Blast-resistant glazing and storm panels
• Modular gas heating plant with quick-swap coupling
• North wall tie rods and crack monitoring
• Emergency power for the lower church and kitchen

No original drawing survives for this building. A measured survey is commissioned before works start; drawings are released after the heritage authority signs them off. See the drawings archive.

Timeline

1. Feb 2022

   First blast damage; services move to the lower church.

2. Mar 2025

   Heating plant destroyed for the second time.

3. Aug 2026

   Modular plant installed; glazing tender awarded.

4. Nov 2026

   Heat commissioned; wall monitoring begins.

Accountability

Damage

Repeated blast damage 2022–2026

Built

1771–1777; bell tower 1821–1841

Community

300 meals served daily from the lower church

Scope

Glazing, heating plant, north wall stabilisation

The condition survey, procurement record and completion certificates are available on request. Write to hello@svitlo.fund.