Kyiv monastery set on fire in night of Russian attacks across Ukraine | Ukraine
Ukraine suffered a massive Russian missile and drone attack early Monday morning, with blast waves echoing through the capital Kiev, and airstrikes killed at least five people across the country.
Among the targets hit in the sustained wave of attacks were the city’s historic Dormition Cathedral at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most important religious sites, as well as residential buildings throughout the city.
Images taken from the Perchersk Lavra, which is on UNESCO’s world heritage list, showed flames rising towards the domes. Six people were reported injured.
“[T]Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, wrote about X: The roof of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, one of the holiest places in the Christian world, is on fire.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted a photo of the monastery building in flames and wrote: “A brutal attack on our people and our heritage. This is the true face of Russia’s Orthodox values.”
“We ask for prayers to save the temple from destruction. Another crime of Russia against humanity, history, Christianity.”
Damage was reported in 16 locations in the capital, amid the sounds of interceptors and explosions shaking windows in the city centre.
“New attacks targeting the capital continue to be recorded,” said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kiev’s military administration, and urged people to stay in shelters as at least 10 people were reported injured.
The attacks across Ukraine came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would target Ukraine with “systematic” attacks and amid evidence of mounting battlefield setbacks for Russia.
The attacks followed a period of relative calm in Kiev in recent days as Moscow prepared its drone and missile forces for the latest in a recent series of major air strikes.
At least five people were killed in a double-hit attack targeting emergency responders in the city of Kharkiv, outside the capital.
EU and NATO member Poland has mobilized warplanes and made ground air defense systems and radar reconnaissance ready, Polish armed forces said in a statement on Monday morning.
The strike came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he had spoken to Donald Trump ahead of this week’s G7 meeting in France and discussed efforts to end the more than four-year war.
The Kremlin also said Trump told Putin on Sunday that ending the conflict in Ukraine was vital and that he was ready to help.
Progress toward a peace agreement in Ukraine has been slow as U.S. officials and mediators focus on the conflict in the Middle East. U.S. and Iranian officials said Sunday that they had agreed on a peace framework to end their war, and the agreement was expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.
