Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Russia’s latest aerial attack against Kyiv that damaged a 1,000-year-old cathedral as an assault on Christianity on Monday.
Zelensky described the missile and drone attack as “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.”
The historic Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was badly damaged in the overnight attack. A Russian strike sparked a fire on the roof of the Ukrainian capital’s Dormition Cathedral. Firefighters battled the blaze that engulfed the religious landmark.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko vowed to restore the 11th-century cathedral through government funding.
“The Government is preparing decisions to allocate resources from the reserve fund for urgent roof stabilization and its subsequent restoration,” she posted on X.
In another post, Svyrydenko said the Russian strike targeting the cathedral was “a brutal assault on our people and our heritage” and argued it represents the “true face of Russia’s Orthodox values.”
Russia denied striking the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, blaming an American-made Patriot air defense missile for the damage. Ukraine uses military weapons provided by the United States. Moscow claimed its intended targets were military factories.
Regarding human casualties, Ukrainian officials said at least 11 civilians, including five in Kyiv, were killed across Ukraine. At least 53 people were wounded in Ukraine. About 30 of those were in Kyiv.
Russia launched a total of 70 missiles and 611 drones against Ukraine, with 60 missiles directed at the capital, Zelensky said. Fifty missiles and 582 drones were shot down or otherwise suppressed, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Zelensky continues to push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war as he prepares to attend the G7 summit in France this week. President Donald Trump is also expected to attend, but Russian President Vladimir Putin will not.
Talks at the G7 summit to end the Eastern European geopolitical conflict may be overshadowed by the Iran war on Monday after an agreement to end the fighting in the latter has been reached.
World leaders allied with Ukraine, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, condemned Russia for attacking the Ukrainian Orthodox church. Zelensky thanked them for their support and urged leaders of other nations to join them in denouncing Russia.
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“It is important that the world does not remain silent in response to this latest act of Russian barbarism,” Zelensky wrote. “This strike on the Lavra is an attack on the Christian community and on the cultural heritage of humanity. There can be no justification for this or for any other similar Russian attacks. What is needed is more cooperation to stop Russia’s war and stronger protection to save lives from Russia.”
As of Monday morning, Trump has not commented on the Russian attack. He held separate phone calls with Zelensky and Putin on Sunday as the U.S. president celebrated his 80th birthday.
