Russian Missiles Strike Historic Kyiv Monastery, Kill 9 in Major Attack on Ukraine
Russia launched a large-scale overnight missile and drone barrage on Ukraine on June 15, killing at least nine people and igniting a major fire at the 1,000-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, one of Ukraine's most important religious sites. The attack knocked out electricity to 140,000 households and struck multiple cities including the capital.
Deadly Overnight Assault
A large overnight Russian missile and drone barrage killed at least nine people across russia-launches-devastating-attack-on-ukraine-killing-at-least-18-civilians-ZCsYVJL1">Ukraine, knocked out electricity to 140,000 households and ignited a major fire at the Dormition Cathedral within the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex. The assault, which struck multiple cities, marked one of the most destructive aerial bombardments on Kyiv's cultural and civilian infrastructure in months.
The rescuers were killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike as they fought a blaze caused by an earlier attack, and at least five other emergency workers were wounded. Several multi-story residential buildings in Kyiv were struck in the Russian attack, with at least five people killed and 29 others injured in the capital, including a pregnant woman and two children, aged 5 and 6.
Religious and Cultural Significance
Founded in the 11th century and comprising a complex network of surface and underground churches, the monastery is a major spiritual and cultural center for many Ukrainians and an important pilgrimage site. UNESCO describes the complex as a "masterpiece of Ukrainian art". The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1051.
The roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the overnight attack, and Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, condemned the strike as another Russian crime "against humanity, against history, against Christianity" and appealed for prayers to save the site.
Official Responses and Denial
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it "one of Russia's most serious crimes against Christian culture to date" and later visited the site, walking past mangled debris around the complex. Russia said it did not strike the historic Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv in an overnight attack on military factories and claimed that a US-made Patriot air defense missile had damaged the religious site.
Infrastructure Damage
The attack left about 140,000 households in the northern part of Kyiv without electricity. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a residential building in the Obolon district was partially destroyed between the third and fourth floors, with strikes on a nine-story residential building in the Solomianskyi district and a five-story residential building in the Pechersk district also reported.