Restoration of St. Nicholas Church: 75 million hryvnias needed, work cannot start until mid-October

The church will be transferred to the Roman Catholic Church community.

Preliminary estimates put the cost of restoring the St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv, damaged by fire, at 75 million hryvnias. Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko reported this on Telegram. 

Oleksandr Tkachenko
Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine

According to preliminary estimates by specialists, restoration will require at least 75 million hryvnias. The funds collected from business will be supplemented by the government with the remaining necessary amount. This is a unique case of public-private partnership.

The minister noted that the amount raised changes every hour. Almost 6 million hryvnias in donations have already been received in the special account, and business has publicly pledged to provide another roughly 20 million hryvnias.

Over the past weekend, the Ministry of Culture together with the State Service for Cultural Heritage developed a step-by-step plan for the next actions to restore the church. They are now awaiting a conclusion from the State Emergency Service. It is the basis for ordering an expert assessment of the scale of material damage.

After this, experts must assess the condition of the building to determine the damage and how much is needed for emergency works and repairs.

Funds donated by benefactors will go toward emergency works. This means eliminating the consequences of the fire inside the church.

All restoration work is divided into three parts:  

• Emergency works: eliminating the consequences of the fire;
• Organ repair: currently being discussed with the manufacturer to develop the most relevant replacement. It will not be restored using funds currently provided by benefactors;
• Restoration of the facade. Tkachenko says funds for this already exist, but work has not started due to delays in tender procedures.

The church will be transferred to the Roman Catholic Church community; the government already approved this procedure last year according to a developed algorithm.

The minister added that repairs inside the building cannot begin immediately, because the State Emergency Service conclusion must first be obtained and an examination completed.

Oleksandr Tkachenko
Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine

It is necessary to make sure that high temperatures did not cause hidden cracks or changes in the geometry of the structures. Also, without assessment and if work is carried out in the wrong sequence, the walls or ceiling may collapse, and so on. This is very painstaking work that requires time, because it directly concerns the safety of those inside.

Tentatively, under an accelerated procedure, emergency works are expected to begin in mid-October.

A working group is also being set up under the Ministry. It should include representatives of public organizations and business to monitor that funds are used for their intended purpose.