At least 11 people died in Ukraine in a new massive Russian attack,Russia suffers a massive drone attack against Moscow, pressure from Kiev to end the war intense over Kiev, where the iconic Orthodox Dormition Cathedral ended up in flames.
Three other people died in the Russian city of Tula, about 200 km south of Moscow, in a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the regional governor.
In Kyiv, Russian bombardments hit numerous neighborhoods in the city this time, causing at least five deaths and 34 injuries, according to local authorities.
Five other people —four rescuers and one municipal official— died in the large city of Kharkiv, in the northeast, according to the Minister of the Interior, Igor Klimenko. One more person died in Kherson, in the south.
Residents of the capital ran to shelters, as a blinding light illuminated the sky, reddened by fires, AFP journalists confirmed.
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One of the fires affected the roof of the Dormition Orthodox Cathedral, located in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex, which is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, indicated the mayor of the capital, Vitali Klitschko.
The complex dates back to the 11th century, and holds significant importance for Orthodox Christians in both Ukraine and Russia.
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Moscow said it had carried out a “massive bombardment” overnight against military facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and the Dnipropetrovsk region, but denied targeting the capital’s monastic complex.
The Russian Ministry of Defense asserted that the fire at the Cave Monastery was due to an “outdated” Patriot air defense missile. Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which was damaged during Russian missile and drone attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that Russia “deliberately” attacked the area of the monastic complex with two drones and described the attack as “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.”
One of the cathedral’s facades was shattered, and the roof partially destroyed. More than ten fire trucks were deployed to the area, an AFP photographer confirmed.
The Ukrainian security service announced that it will publicly display the remains of one of the drones that struck the complex.
Unesco condemned the attack in a statement, which “caused significant damage to the exterior and interior of the Dormition Cathedral,” and its surroundings, and stated it is at the disposal of the authorities to help assess them.
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The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastic complex, considered one of the main spiritual centers of Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine.
Orthodox churches, a vector of power
Makarii, a monk living in the monastery, told AFP that he jumped “out of bed” after hearing a loud bang at five in the morning and saw the complex engulfed in “fire and smoke”.
An emergency services worker stated that “everything is fine inside” the cathedral and that the roof absorbed most of the damage.
Natalia Korol, a museum employee from Kyiv, declared herself “outraged” by the attack. “It is a sanctuary. They themselves say it is their sanctuary. You cannot attack sanctuaries.”
The monastic complex, whose origins date back a millennium, made headlines in recent years due to the expulsion of monks accused of maintaining ties with Russia. In January, other buildings in the complex were damaged by Russian shells.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine officially separated from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, following the invasion. Two years later, the government of Kyiv banned the branch of the Russian Church in Ukraine. In another part of the capital, the Obolonskyi district, a nine-story residential building took a direct hit. The damage spread to several urban areas and mobilized emergency teams for much of the early morning.
The Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, has stood out as a fervent defender of President Vladimir Putin.
“Just like the war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years, nothing justifies this attack on our universal heritage,” said French President Emmanuel Macron on X, condemning the attack on the Ukrainian monastic complex.
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The Russian army claimed to have launched a “massive” bombardment against Ukrainian industrial facilities. The Ukrainian Air Force specified for its part that Moscow launched 70 missiles and 611 drones, mostly against Kyiv, of which 50 and 582 were intercepted, respectively.
The Russian bombardment comes after the announcement of an agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East, and just hours before a G7 summit in France.
Volodymyr Zelensky specifically asked the leaders of the G7, who are meeting in France starting this Monday, to intensify pressure on Russia.
“It is very important that there is a response from the G7 countries, which are now meeting for this summit, and that this response be decisive and substantive: more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine‘s air defense, especially its anti-ballistic capability,” declared Zelensky.
