Farewell held in Kyiv for Polish volunteer killed in Ukraine
A farewell ceremony for Polish volunteer Marek Rusek-Wolski, who was killed in Ukraine, was held in Kyiv on 7 August.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X that the Polish volunteer, who was helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, was killed in Kharkiv in a Russian drone attack.
He expressed condolences to Rusek-Wolski's family and loved ones and stressed that he became a true friend of Ukraine.
Sybiha also stressed that Russian aggression "will never destroy Ukrainian-Polish friendship".
Dzisiaj w Kijowie odprowadzono w ostatnią drogę wielkiego syna Polski, wielkiego przyjaciela Ukrainy, Pana Marka Ruska-Wolskiego – polskiego wolontariusza, który pomagał Ukrainie bronić się przed rosyjską agresją i zginął w Charkowie w wyniku ataku rosyjskiego drona.
– Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) August 7, 2026
Składamy… pic.twitter.com/CHfa173c8j
"It will never destroy Ukrainian-Polish allied cooperation. Because it is rooted in a shared alliance against challenges facing not only Ukraine, but Poland and Europe as a whole," Sybiha wrote.
Photos posted by Sybiha show that the farewell ceremony was attended by Vasyl Bodnar, who has served as Ukraine's ambassador to Poland since 2024, and Piotr Łukasiewicz, Poland's chargé d'affaires in Ukraine.
On 4 August, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death of a Polish volunteer in Ukraine after his friends had earlier posted about it on social media.
In December 2025, a member of the UK Armed Forces died in Ukraine after being injured in an accident.