On June 15, 2026, Bishop Savva of Valuysky and Alekseevsky held a working meeting with the staff of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission — Natalia Letavina, head of the Development Department, and Irina Lyufanova, volunteer coordinator in the Belgorod Region.
The main topic of discussion was the beginning of the work of the Mission's volunteers on targeted tasks in the territory of the Valuisk diocese. Vladyka Savva blessed to prepare the premises for the assistance center, which will be located at St. Nicholas Church in Valuiki, Belgorod region, as soon as possible.
"We thank Vladyka Savva for supporting the work of the Mission in the region. Previously, we carried out only a single delivery of goods, including generators for parishes. Now it will be possible to work systematically to help people. We are starting to train the first group of experienced volunteers," said Natalia Letavina, Head of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission Development Department.
As the experience of work in the Belgorod region has shown, the problems of residents of border settlements are the most acute today. Many villages and their entrances remain dangerous, but people continue to live there without light, heat, or water. In such circumstances, special emphasis is placed on helping those who cannot cope on their own.: people with disabilities, people with limited mobility, and single elderly people.
Since May 2022, the center for assistance to refugees and injured locals has been operating in Belgorod, on the territory of the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Mercy. More than 71 thousand appeals have already been accepted on its basis. Since the fall of 2025, when as a result of daily attacks on the energy infrastructure, many residents of the region found themselves without light and heat, weekly visits by volunteers of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission to lonely injured residents of Belgorod and neighboring cities along the line of contact were organized. Currently, more than 140 volunteers from different regions of the country have participated in this work.