Yurii Burkovskyi of Bucha, 87, has his own home again. The new house was built next to the one that burned down on Kyievo-Myrotska Street after a Russian strike on 8 August 2025. Construction took a little over a year.
Bucha mayor Anatolii Fedoruk announced this.
The post that was read across the ocean
The day after the strike, a video showing Mr Yurii standing among the ruins of his own house was seen by José Andrés — the Spanish-born American chef who founded World Central Kitchen. The organisation feeds people in disaster and war zones and has worked in Ukraine since the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. José Andrés shared the video on his page on X and added a few sentences.
José Andrésfounder of World Central KitchenBucha and Irpin were among the first towns I came to after the liberation. This place is special to me. We will not be defeated. I cannot help everyone whose homes have been destroyed by Russian attacks, but we will support the restoration of Yurii’s house 100%
Who built it
The chef kept his promise in person — through his own The Longer Tables Fund. The charity Save Ukraine supported the delivery of the project. Mr Burkovskyi now has a place that is warm and homely again, and the city council congratulated him on the housewarming.
Photo: Anatolii Fedoruk
Photo: Anatolii Fedoruk
Photo: Anatolii FedorukWhy this is an exception
Private houses are the hardest part of the rebuild. Apartment blocks in the Bucha district are restored through state and donor programmes, while owners of private homes mostly rely on the eVidnovlennia compensation scheme and their own money. That is what residents of Vorzel did, for example, after debris damaged their houses in early September.
The Kyievo-Myrotska story stands apart because an entire house was paid for by a single private initiative that began with a short video online.
As a reminder, Borodianka handed over two more restored buildings this year — 106 flats and a solar plant for backup power.
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