On June 8, 2026, Deacon Igor Kulikov, Director of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, visited the city of Grayvoron in the Belgorod Region and held a working meeting with Dmitry Pankov, head of the administration of the Grayvoron Municipal District. The Grayvoronsky district borders the Kharkiv and Sumy regions and is currently one of the most volatile in the Belgorod region from the point of view of security. During the meeting, issues of humanitarian assistance to residents of shelled settlements and the restoration of damaged houses were discussed.
Igor was accompanied on the trip by Alexander Chernov, Mayor of Grayvoron, Natalia Letavina, Head of the Development Department of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, and Irina Lyufanova, coordinator of the Church assistance Center in Belgorod.
Representatives of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission also visited the city's center for helping families with children in difficult situations and handed over two generators and 20 walkie-talkies to the residents of the city.
"In Grayvoron and other settlements along the line of contact, local residents try not to leave their homes without walkie—talkies, because they are the only ones that can quickly find out about approaching UAVs and hide in time," commented Deacon Igor Kulikov.
A meeting was also held with the dean of the Grayvoronsky church district, Archpriest Andrey Kolesnikov. During the meeting, the needs of local priests and the work of the social service at the spiritual and educational center were discussed.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been helping civilians in Donbas since February 2022. There are 12 church aid centers operating in the border areas, Moscow and the conflict zone, which have processed over 390,000 requests. More than 4,300 tons of humanitarian aid have been transferred to the victims. More than 7,400 volunteers participated in helping the victims. As part of the project to restore private housing for those in need in the conflict zone, 786 private homes have been restored. The Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission coordinates the social assistance of the Church in the regions of the SVR zone.