On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria.
Students and teachers of the Ukrainian-Polish Institute took part at the memorial service and the wreath-laying ceremony at the Smolensk Tragedy Memorial on ul. Lech Kaczynski with the staff of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Odessa, diplomats and city authorities.