Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s biggest cities in an overnight barrage that killed at least 11 people and set fire to a world-renowned religious landmark, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials said Monday.The attacks on the capital of Kyiv, and the second-largest city of Kharkiv, came after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. The exchange suggests Washington hasn’t given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks Tuesday by G7 leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy and Trump are due to attend, with the Ukrainian leader pushing his country’s plight while the Iran War diverts international attention.“This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack on civilian sites that included the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery complex.“It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries … and that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities,” he said. Religious site damaged in attackIn Kyiv, smoke billowed around the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a revered religious landmark.Its roof caught fire during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity,” and appealed for prayers to save the site.The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 2,000 feet.Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the attack Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.” He visited the scene with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and other government officials.The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the “equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame” in Paris.Ukraine’s National Commission for UNESCO, which coordinates the country’s cooperation with the U.N. educational, scientific and cultural body, urged the international community to step up pressure on Moscow to stop its invasion and to throw it out of the organization.“By destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage, (Russia) seeks to erase historical memory and inflicts damage upon the heritage of all humankind,” the commission said in a statement.Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, saying that it might have veered off course due to its age.
Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s biggest cities in an overnight barrage that killed at least 11 people and set fire to a world-renowned religious landmark, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials said Monday.
The attacks on the capital of Kyiv, and the second-largest city of Kharkiv, came after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. The exchange suggests Washington hasn’t given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks Tuesday by G7 leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy and Trump are due to attend, with the Ukrainian leader pushing his country’s plight while the Iran War diverts international attention.
“This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack on civilian sites that included the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery complex.
“It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries … and that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities,” he said.
Religious site damaged in attack
In Kyiv, smoke billowed around the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a revered religious landmark.
Its roof caught fire during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity,” and appealed for prayers to save the site.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 2,000 feet.
Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the attack Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.” He visited the scene with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and other government officials.
The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the “equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame” in Paris.
Ukraine’s National Commission for UNESCO, which coordinates the country’s cooperation with the U.N. educational, scientific and cultural body, urged the international community to step up pressure on Moscow to stop its invasion and to throw it out of the organization.
“By destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage, (Russia) seeks to erase historical memory and inflicts damage upon the heritage of all humankind,” the commission said in a statement.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, saying that it might have veered off course due to its age.
