Kyiv: 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."
According to Anadolu Agency, 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, as reported by Ukrainian officials and local media. Metropolitan Epiphanius I, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, expressed his distress over the incident, calling for prayers to save the shrine from destruction and urging the international community to take stronger action against Moscow.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a fire broke out on the roof of the Assumption Cathedral at 1:48 am local time. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a monastery and cave complex dating back to the 11th century, holds significant religious importance for Ukrainian Christians. The strike marks the second on the Lavra since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and only the third attack on the site since World War II.
The overnight assault also resulted in damage to residential buildings across Kyiv and injured at least 20 people, including a child and a pregnant woman, with 11 victims hospitalized. Klitschko noted that around 140,000 households in northern Kyiv lost electricity due to damaged power lines. The attack involved dozens of drones and at least 15 ballistic missiles, with damage reported in the Obolonskyi, Podilskyi, Pecherskyi, and Solomianskyi districts.
Simultaneously, Russian authorities reported casualties from a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia's Tula Oblast, with preliminary reports indicating three fatalities and three injuries, including a one-year-old child, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency. The attack on Kyiv occurred shortly after a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump, where Zelenskyy briefed Trump on recent battlefield developments and Ukraine's position ahead of their expected meeting at the upcoming G7 Summit in France. Russia has yet to comment on the reported strike on the monastery.