Massive attack on Kyiv. Polish priest: the explosion shook our monastery

Your monastery suffered damage in this attack.

Somewhere after 7 a.m. everything seemed to calm down. But suddenly we heard an anti-aircraft alarm, and after two or three minutes a Shahid drone flew over our block. 10 seconds later an explosion was heard. He hit something. Fortunately, not in us.

What do you think in such situations?

One prays just to survive. Nights like this last one make you realize it's a lottery. All you hear is the whistle of a rocket or a drone. Something you can't even see.

Everything indicates that it was the worst night in four years, i.e. since the beginning of this full-scale war. The attack was quite long and intense.

Massive attack on Kyiv. Polish priest: the explosion shook our monastery

Russia deliberately attacks in the middle of the night, when the inhabitants of Kiev are asleep and completely defenseless.

I just woke up a little before 4. There was such a bang that it was impossible to fall asleep. This explosion shook our monastery so much that most of the windows and doors were blown out. I already knew that something bad had happened near us and that I wouldn't sleep again. The only thing I could think about was whether it hit our building or next door.

So far, the services have reported that four people were killed and at least 83 were injured in the night attack from Saturday to Sunday.

Thank God, nothing happened to anyone here. The monastery building has thick walls. Fortunately, no one was injured by glass fragments.

Immediately after the explosion, I ran out into the street. There I saw a young man standing with a bloody face, covered with a quilt. He was wearing only briefs and flip-flops and ran straight out of bed. He was in shock and was still bleeding. I took him to the monastery to recover, and one of our fathers took him to the hospital. Fortunately, nothing serious happened to him.

On the night from Saturday to Sunday, Russia carried out a massive attack on KyivVladyslav Musiienko / PAP

This last attack on Kiev began after midnight and lasted over five hours. The Russians first attacked the capital with drones, then with ballistic, guided and hypersonic missiles. There are no safe places left in Ukraine.

That's true. Of course, you can take shelter somewhere underground, for example in a metro station. In fact, the Russians have long been increasingly attacking parts of the country that were previously considered safe. Such an example may be Zakarpattia, i.e. the region on the border with Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. I'm not talking about Lviv or Kiev.

Could the attack on Polish churches be repeated at any time?

Maybe, although our experience shows that after a massive impact there is usually some pause. I don't know what causes it, but it's definitely a time when we can recover.

Apocalyptic scenes in Kiev. “Man only prays to survive”

Is it even possible to recover from something like this? Does this stay with a person forever?

You know, we and our brothers have been in Kiev for years.

The war found you there.

We haven't gone anywhere since 2022. We have already experienced many similar attacks. It also taught me that each of us has a different psyche and a different ability to cope with this type of situation. I would never dare to criticize someone who leaves Kiev after such a difficult night. The war has traumatized all of us to such an extent that when we hear sirens in Poland or the United States, where there is no war, we will still be just as afraid.

Does your father sometimes think about returning to Poland?

Today I feel that Ukraine is my second home. I serve the people to whom I was sent. I want to be with them because they are my brothers, sisters, friends. It also seems to me that the fact that we are still here together with Ukrainians, with whom I talk every day on the street, we suffer with them, and help each other, is what unites us.

Massive attack on KyivPAP/Victor Kovalchuk

How to talk to people about God when death is lurking around every corner?

We speak primarily with our words and actions. Recently, even our auxiliary bishop Aleksander and his boys removed broken windows and volunteered to help. In turn, in March, the former general of the Dominican Order, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, visited us in Kiev and went with us in a convoy to Kherson.

These are beautiful gestures of sensitivity and kindness that flow very deeply from the Gospel. This is also what our experience of resurrection is about: the Lord Jesus, although he left this world, lives in us, in how much of ourselves we give to others. Perhaps the hardest thing about crises is when you are left alone in them.

Father, how long will all this take?

I don't know. It is difficult for me to give any prophecies or predictions here. We have already heard many scenarios predicting the weakness and collapse of Russia, and yet the war continues and becomes more and more brutal. Fighting on the front is one thing, but attacking densely populated city centers such as Kiev or Lviv is pure terror and an attempt to intimidate the civilian population.

Will Ukraine win?

I hope so. Even after the last four years, I see great determination and will to fight in Ukrainians. Of course, there is also fatigue, sometimes even resignation, but above all there is a visible reluctance to be under the Russian thumb. I think we Poles understand this well. Ukraine is a great, proud nation that also wants freedom. May we all have enough strength to support our neighbors.

Fewer and fewer Poles support this support.

I know, that's why I would like to thank all those who have supported Ukraine so far. I am aware that our enthusiasm is less than at the beginning. But I also know that there are still many people of good will who understand that a free and strong Ukraine also means our security.