Marek Rusek-Wolski was fatally struck by a Russian drone in Kharkiv around July 27, according to the Razem dla Ukrainy (Together for Ukraine) group, which announced his death on July 30.
He had been involved in delivering humanitarian aid to people near the front lines in the war with Russia.
The funeral service was held at St. Alexander's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Kyiv, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Iryna Vereshchuk, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, pays her last respects to the Polish volunteer at St. Alexander's Cathedral in Kyiv on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. Photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
'The most beautiful gift Poland could give Ukraine'
Piotr Łukasiewicz, head of Poland's diplomatic mission in Kyiv, said Rusek-Wolski had worked in front-line areas around the northeastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Sumy, delivering medicine and food and helping evacuate civilians.
"Marek went to help them, bringing medicine and food and taking part in evacuations," Łukasiewicz said. "The last time he came, the Russians killed him."
Łukasiewicz called Rusek-Wolski’s life "the most beautiful gift Poland could give Ukraine."
Sybiha, Ukraine's acting foreign minister after a government reshuffle last month, described Rusek-Wolski as a "great son of the Polish nation" and said his actions demonstrated that solidarity was more than an abstract slogan.
"He did not stand aside and, when hardship—Russian aggression—came to Ukraine, he got behind the wheel himself to deliver aid and help people in Kharkiv," Sybiha said, as quoted by the PAP news agency.
Rusek-Wolski's death, Sybiha added, was another reminder of the nature of Russia's aggression.
"It has no borders, it pays no attention to nationality—it destroys everything," he said. "But it will never destroy allied Ukrainian-Polish cooperation."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha addresses mourners at Marek Rusek-Wolski's funeral in Kyiv on Friday. Photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
After the funeral, Sybiha told Polish diplomats that Ukraine would cover the cost of building a gravestone at the volunteer's resting place.
The ceremony was also attended by Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, and Olena Kondratiuk, deputy Speaker of Ukraine's parliament.
Ukraine's outgoing ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, was also present. He is ending his posting in Warsaw and is expected to become a Ukrainian deputy foreign minister.
Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór officially announced the death of the Polish volunteer on Tuesday.
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Source: Polish Radio, PAP