Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukraine overnight, killing at least 11 people and damaging one of the country’s most important religious landmarks, the historic Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv.
The attack sparked a fire at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most revered Orthodox Christian monasteries in Eastern Europe. Flames engulfed the roof of the Dormition Cathedral after debris fell during the bombardment.
Ukrainian officials said five people were killed and 34 injured in Kyiv, while additional fatalities were reported in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones, most of them targeting the capital. Air defences intercepted a significant number of the projectiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strike, describing it as a serious attack on Christian heritage and called on G7 leaders meeting in France to increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen Ukraine’s air-defence capabilities.
The Russian military acknowledged carrying out what it described as a “massive strike” against military targets in Kyiv and other regions but denied targeting the monastery. Moscow claimed the cathedral was struck by debris from a Ukrainian air-defence missile.
Founded in the 11th century, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra holds deep spiritual significance for Orthodox Christians in both Ukraine and Russia. The monastery’s Dormition Cathedral was previously destroyed during World War II and later rebuilt in the 1990s.
The latest assault comes amid intensified hostilities between the two countries, with both sides continuing to launch aerial attacks as the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, enters its fifth year.