Russia unleashed an overnight missile barrage on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, setting fire to the Assumption Cathedral in the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastic complex.
The head of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church condemned the strike as “another Russian crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.”
One of Ukraine’s most important religious and cultural landmarks was struck in the attack early Monday, damaging the roof of the cathedral at the heart of the 11th-century complex, according to Ukrainian officials and local media reports.
“(T)he roof of one of the holiest places in the Christian world — the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — is burning,” Metropolitan Epiphanius I, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, wrote on the US social media platform X during the attack.
“We ask for prayers for the salvation of the shrine from destruction,” he added.
Epiphanius called on the international community to take stronger action against Moscow.
“What else must the Kremlin antichrist do for the world to realize that decisive action is needed to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and against the very principles of peace?” he wrote.
DAMAGE, INJURIES IN MANY DISTRICTS
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a fire broke out on the roof of the Assumption Cathedral at 1.48 am local time (2248GMT Sunday).
“Fire on the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Fire on the roof of the Assumption Cathedral,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a monastery and cave complex dating back to the 11th century, is regarded as one of the holiest sites in Ukrainian Christianity.
According to The Kyiv Independent, the strike was the second on the Lavra since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and only the third attack on the site since World War II.
The overnight assault also damaged residential buildings across Kyiv and injured at least 20 people, including a child and a pregnant woman, with 11 victims hospitalized, according to Ukrainian authorities. Klitschko earlier reported 19 injuries and said around 140,000 households in northern Kyiv lost electricity after power lines were damaged.
Explosions were heard across the capital after midnight as Russia launched dozens of drones and at least 15 ballistic missiles, according to local monitoring channels cited by the Kyiv Post. Damage was reported in the Obolonskyi, Podilskyi, Pecherskyi and Solomianskyi districts.
“In Pecherskyi district, a 5-story residential building was hit. In Obolonskyi district, a hit caused damage to a residential building between the third and fourth floors. In Solomianskyi district, a 9-story residential building was hit,” Klitschko said.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities reported casualties from a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Tula Oblast. Regional Gov. Dmitry Milyaev said three people were preliminarily reported killed while three others were injured, including a one-year-old child, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
The attack on Kyiv came hours after a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump. According to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office, the Ukrainian leader briefed Trump on recent battlefield developments and Ukraine’s position ahead of their expected meeting at the upcoming G7 Summit in France.
Russia has not commented on the reported strike on the monastery.
