'We still care' city tells Ukrainian community

A canon at Coventry Cathedral has told the city's Ukrainian community "we still care" in a vigil marking the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion.

The Reverend Kate Massey said the suffering the Ukrainian community in Coventry and Warwickshire had experienced meant is was important to hold space for them to tell their stories and show they are not forgotten.

At the centre of the vigil, held at Coventry Cathedral on Tuesday, were pieces of damaged body armour painted on by artists involved in ArtArmor, a Ukrainian project set up to turn plates that had saved lives in the conflict, into unique pieces of art.

The pieces feature religious icons St Volodymyr The Great and St Valeriy.

The decorated armour was presented to NP Aerospace in 2023 in recognition for the firm's work in supplying thousands of items of body armour to Ukraine.

Both are held at the firm but loaned to the Ukrainian community for special events.

Massey, who is the cathedral's canon for arts and reconciliation, said: "This is Coventry, this is our city's chance to show the Ukrainian community, that we still care, we still see their suffering, that we are still standing in solidarity with them and praying for them."

She added: "None of us could have imagined when we first held a vigil a few days after that invasion, that we'd still be here four years later. It has been a difficult service to plan."

Peter Luczka, from the Ukrainian community in Coventry, said of the decorated body armour: "What makes them special is that both have been blessed by our priest at St Volodymyr The Great, our parish church in Coventry."

Massey said while it is too early in the war to start thinking about reconciliation, she is inspired by Provost Richard Howard, who gave an address from the ruins of Coventry Cathedral on Christmas Day 1940, just weeks after the city had been devastated by German bombs.

"He said we're still in the middle of struggle. We still have to fight for what we believe is right. But what we're ultimately going to build is a kinder world."

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