Russia strikes leave historic Kyiv cathedral in flames
The grounds of a historic Kyiv monastery caught fire after Russia launched a major missile attack on several cities in Ukraine overnight, the heaviest Russian air attack on the capital in two weeks, Ukrainian officials said Monday. The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 70
The grounds of a historic Kyiv monastery caught fire after Russia launched a major missile attack on several cities in Ukraine overnight, the heaviest Russian air attack on the capital in two weeks, Ukrainian officials said Monday.
The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones on the country. Citing preliminary data, it said air defense shot down 50 missiles and 582 drones.
The strikes sparked a blaze on the roof of the capital's historic Dormition Cathedral within the UNESCO-protected Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery complex.
"A brutal assault on our people and our heritage. This is the true face of Russia's Orthodox values," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X, calling the site a "priceless cultural landmark".
She shared a video purportedly showing the top of the cathedral building engulfed in flames.
Other visuals showed a gaping hole on one side of the church.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, accused Russia of deliberately striking "the heart of one of the largest Christian shrines."
Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, denounced the attack as another Moscow "crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity".
