Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski found heartbreak and hope as Ukrainians in Irpin and Bucha emerge from the devastation wrought by Russian forces (Picture: Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski)
The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic community in the UK has told of the ‘generational’ impact of the war on millions of children.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski spoke after visiting graveyards and shattered buildings in Irpin and Bucha, which have become synonymous with alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces.
He was ‘overwhelmed’ by the scale of destruction in the cities, but also found moments of incredible resilience from residents determined to rebuild from the ruins. One worshipper, among those picking up the pieces after a Ukrainian counter-offensive liberated the region, asked the reverend: ‘What is King Charles like?’
Bishop Nowakowski previously lived in Ukraine and has made frequent trips since Covid restrictions were lifted but was taken aback by the devastation on the ground. He described the scenes he witnessed as his church, the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London, prepares to host an Armistice Day concert for the ‘lost children’ of the war.
‘I don’t think anything can prepare you for what I found in Irpin and Bucha,’ Bishop Nowakowski said.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski walked around shattered apartment blocks on his latest visit to Ukraine (Picture: Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski)
‘We arrived on the outskirts of Irpin by the famous bridge that has been blown apart for tactical reasons and has still not been completely repaired and then saw the bombed-out apartment buildings.
‘It was a bright, sunny, beautiful Sunday morning and I was able to walk around all of these half-destroyed, blackened buildings.
‘I found a beauty parlour with the sign still on in English and Ukrainian saying “positive image of beauty”. There couldn’t be a greater contrast, my heart was just breaking, it was just overwhelming.’
Bishop Nowakowski visited the cities in September, his second trip to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began on February 24.
He celebrated Mass at Irpin parish church, finding people waiting to greet him and keen to express their gratitude to the UK.
The faith leader’s trip began a day after the Queen’s funeral and parishioners were aware of his meeting with King Charles III in March when the prince visited the cathedral before his ascension to the throne.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski visited graves in Bucha including those of soldiers who have fought the Russian invasion (Picture: Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski)
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski with congregation members who are looking to the future after the Russian occupation (Picture: Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski)
Residents in Irpin were keen to speak with the faith leader and to express their gratitude to the UK (Picture: Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski)
‘I listened to their stories and saw the strain on the people,’ he said.
‘Then I asked them if maybe they had any questions for me.
‘The first question was rather surprising but also rather uplifting, it showed they hadn’t left of the world, that they were looking to the future.
‘The question was, “Bishop Kenneth, what is King Charles like?”
‘They were there in this place so damaged by the invaders, the occupiers, yet they wanted to know what was happening in the world, which gave me a lot of hope for the future.’
Russian forces subjected civilians to ‘abhorrent, unlawful and cruel’ atrocities including summary executions, torture and rape before they were driven out of territory north of Kyiv by the Ukrainian counter-offensive, according to Human Rights Watch.
In Bucha, the clergyman saw the aftermath of the occupation that as of May was said by the United Nations to have left behind the bodies of at least 1,000 people in the region.
Children play at a symbolic cemetery made from cars destroyed by Russian troops in Irpin (Picture: Sergei Supinsky/AFP)
An aerial view shows the scale of devastation wrought by Russian shelling in Irpin (Picture: AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
‘They showed me the graves of people who died during Covid, and then the graves of people who had died during the occupation,’ Bishop Nowakowski said. ‘Not all of the people who died in the occupation died because of the wounds they got at the hands of the occupiers, but because treatment was not available; they died from illnesses they otherwise would have survived.
‘Then they showed me the graves of the soldiers from that area.
‘What I can’t emphasise enough is the resilience of the people. Even amid the huge devastation of these large apartment buildings, they had swept the streets, tidied up as much as possible and were preparing for the future.’
Nearly 1,000 children have been killed or injured since the start of the war, according to a figure cited by the UN Children’s Fund in August. Two million have fled across the borders, with another 2.5 million internally displaced.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski was touched by the spirit Ukrainians are showing in the face of adversity (Picture: Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski)
The innocents will be supported through the evening of music, including a requiem, due to take place at the church in Mayfair on Friday night.
‘You have the trauma of saying goodbye to your father, seeing your mother crying and trying to be strong for you,’ Bishop Nowakowski said.
‘Then you are arriving in a strange new country, no matter how welcoming that country is, not knowing what is happening to your dad.
‘These children fled, it was not like getting on a train and going on holiday.
‘This will affect them, and it will affect them generationally.’
Bishop Nowakowski, 64, is originally from Canada but has lived in the UK since being appointed Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of the Holy Family Eparchy in London two years ago.
He flew into Poland before crossing the border and also travelled to Lviv and Kyiv on his 10-day trip, which followed an earlier visit to Ukraine in July.
The bishop has been lifted by the open arms British people have offered Ukrainians, with the response including a ‘Welcome Centre’ set up by the cathedral in partnership with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski has paid tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people amid the Russian invasion (Picture: Bishop Nowakowski)
The concert will feature The Cry, a requiem by composer Adrian Snell, conducted by Dominic Ellis-Peckham and performed by London Oriana Choir, Alleyn’s School Choir and soprano Katy Treharne.
The evening of solidarity will also feature a performance of Ukrainian music by the cathedral’s acapella quartet, Vivo.
The event will raise funds for the Welcome Centre and mental health charity Beyond Conflict, which provides trauma counselling for Ukrainian children and mothers who have fled to Poland.
Each day brings new horrors inflicted by Russia on Ukraine after Vladimir Putin intensified his targeting of the civilian infrastructure, including with Iranian-supplied ‘kamikaze’ drones.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has warned residents that Russia is ‘doing everything’ to deprive them of electricity and water this winter.
Hope, however, is the abiding emotion conveyed to Bishop Nowakowski, who lived in Ukraine for more than 10 years before moving back to Canada and then on to London.
Families gather on the first day of the Ukrainian ‘Holy Mary’ Saturday school at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London (Picture: T. Boiko)
‘With the support of the United Kingdom and other Western nations the people of Ukraine feel very uplifted,’ he said.
‘One of the things I have heard time and again from people who have arrived here is, “I just want to go home”.
‘When I was in Irpin a young woman said it was wonderful to see me again.
‘When I told her it was my first time in Irpin she told me she had been living in London and attending services at the cathedral, but as much as she was welcomed and cared for, she just needed to return home, so she returned.
‘The wounds will take a long time to heal, and we have to be there for the people of Ukraine, but no one is giving up.’
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Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski described his heartbreak and hope as Ukrainians rebuild from the ashes.
