Archpriest Mikhail Potokin, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, has begun another working trip to Donbass. Deacon Igor Kulikov, Director of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, accompanies him on the trip.
On August 22, 2026, they visited the first of the Mission's assistance centers opened in Mariupol. During the visit, Archpriest Mikhail Potokin presented awards to several Mission staff who have been working in Mariupol for several years.
Alexandra Naumova, coordinator of the Mariupol Assistance Center, and Anton Vorobyov, coordinator of volunteer repair workers, were awarded medals of the Righteous Filaret the Merciful, III degree. Oleg Pelikh, lawyer of the assistance center, and Anna Lyubimenko, coordinator of medical requests, were awarded certificates of appreciation.
In addition to the assistance center, Archpriest Mikhail Potokin and Deacon Igor Kulikov visited the volunteer dormitory and got acquainted with the renovation of additional facilities for the development of the ministry of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission.
Also on this day, a meeting was held with the dean of the Mykolaiv district of Mariupol, Archpriest Alexy Zinoviev.
The assistance center in Mariupol has been operating since 2023. During this time, 47,600 requests for help from residents of the city were received there. Volunteer builders of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission have restored 470 private houses and apartments in Mariupol.
The Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission was established by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church with the aim of coordinating and systematically developing assistance to civilians in the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as well as providing assistance to the wounded.
There are 12 Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission assistance centers in the border areas, Moscow and the conflict zone, where over 410,000 requests have been processed. More than 4,400 tons of humanitarian aid have been transferred to the victims. More than 7,900 volunteers participated in helping the victims. As part of the project to restore private housing for those in need in the conflict zone, 827 private homes have been restored. Volunteer priests travel in shifts to 45 hospitals in the conflict zone. Together with the Synodal Department for Charity, a service is working to help veterans of the SVR and their loved ones.