Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma promised to allocate 30 million hryvnias (about 5.5 million US dollars) to finish the restoration of St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Khersones (Crimea, southern Ukraine). Early in the morning on 5 May 2002, Kuchma attended Easter services in the cathedral, led by Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
The president will personally control the process of restoration of the second biggest Orthodox church in Ukraine to ensure that the work is finished by the end of the year. According to tradition, the church was built at the place where Prince Volodymyr had been baptized. The church was partially destroyed during World War Two, taking the direct hit of a German missile during the second defense of Sevastopol (Crimea).The first stage of the church’s restoration cost 35 million hryvnias. During the second stage, the restoration will be finished and the walls of the cathedral will be painted.
Source: http://ukr.for-ua.com
Picture from: http://www.ua.ru/sevreal/other/h-sobor.html