Speaking after a government meeting, Sikorski said he had passed on the gratitude of Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, to Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, the Archbishop of Kraków.
The message concerned the decision to donate the entire church collection gathered on 1 February across the Archdiocese of Kraków, in southern Poland, to assist the Ukrainian capital.
Sikorski also expressed appreciation for all those who have contributed to the nationwide campaign “Warmth from Poland for Kyiv”, stressing that the assistance is urgently needed. “Ukrainians really need this,” he said.
Referring to Russia’s sustained strikes on Ukrainian power plants and heating facilities, the foreign minister described the attacks as war crimes, even if they do not yet meet the legal definition of genocide.
Poland’s top diplomat added that ending the suffering would require sustained pressure on the aggressor, naming President Vladimir Putin directly.
The remarks come amid a renewed wave of Russian air attacks.
On the night of 23–24 January, Russia launched hundreds of airborne weapons against Ukraine, leaving thousands of residential buildings in Kyiv without heating and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of households in the Chernihiv region, in northern Ukraine.
Polish Church donates 1 February fundraising collection to aid Kyiv amid winter crisis
In a letter to the faithful published on Saturday, Cardinal Ryś quoted a message from the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, describing “another hellish night” in Kyiv, with temperatures falling to minus 10 degrees Celsius and severe damage on the city’s Left Bank.
“The struggle for life, warmth and light continues,” the archbishop wrote.
“We cannot remain indifferent,” Cardinal Ryś said, announcing that the entire 1 February collection would go to aid Kyiv, even though Polish worshippers had recently given generously to other charitable causes, including the annual fundraising campaign by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP), whose 34th finale took place on Sunday, 25 January 2026.
The archdiocese is expected to disclose the total amount raised and the equipment purchased on 8 February.
Poland steps up support as Ukraine faces winter hardship
More than 8 million złoty (€1,906,120) have already been collected nationwide under the “Warmth from Poland for Kyiv” campaign. The funds are being used to purchase power generators and energy stations for residents left without electricity and heating.
The first shipment of generators reached Kyiv earlier this week. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, publicly thanked the Polish people for their support during a meeting attended by the Polish embassy’s chargé d’affaires in the Ukrainian capital, Piotr Łukasiewicz.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko (second from left), and the Polish embassy’s chargé d’affaires in Ukraine, Piotr Łukasiewicz (second from right), on 26 January 2026. Photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
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Source: MSZ/PAP/X/@PolandMFA