The facade, exterior walls, interior rooms, and metal roof were damaged. A crater was left in the flower bed next to the building. That same day, a Russian munition struck a neighboring nine-story residential building.
The building was purchased with funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the team was forced to evacuate, and operations at the building were suspended.
Fr. Vasyl Ivaniuk, Director of Caritas Kramatorsk, made a deliberate effort to preserve the building, hoping to return after the war and reestablish an office there to continue developing the organization’s work in Donetsk region.
“I wanted to preserve this building because we’ll need somewhere to return to,” Fr. Vasyl explains.
Plans to renovate the building were developed even before the full-scale invasion. In 2021, Fr. Vasyl commissioned a reconstruction design and even obtained a permit to begin work. The plan was to add a second floor to the existing single-story building. Once completed, the complex would have a total area of approximately 1,100 square meters.
The building will now need to be repaired before those plans can move forward. However, Fr. Vasyl has no intention of giving up.
“We already have a plan. Everything will be new, and we’ll have two conference halls,” the priest says, looking ahead with hope.
Meanwhile, the Caritas Kramatorsk team continues to support people affected by the war. The organization has more than 100 staff members. As the security situation deteriorates, it has had to relocate some of its operations from frontline communities to safer areas, including Oleksandrivka in Donetsk region, and Pereshchepyne and Zhovti Vody in Dnipropetrovsk region.
For Fr. Vasyl, restoring the building in Kramatorsk means more than repairing damaged premises. It is an opportunity to bring the team home and continue serving people where support is needed most.
“As soon as things calm down, we’re going home,” he says.