Ukraine condemns Russian strikes on Kyiv that set fire to historic monastery and killed civilians

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the toll included rescuers dispatched to the scene. "There is significant destruction of civilian infrastructure," Klymenko said. He later confirmed that at least five people had been killed in the capital, with more than 20 wounded, according to local emergency services.

Lavra fire and cultural toll

The most visible cultural casualty was the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a sprawling monastic complex built between the 11th and 19th centuries and known in English as the Monastery of the Caves. Some of its churches are linked by a labyrinthine network of underground tunnels stretching more than 600 meters. Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, said the roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the overnight attack, while Tkachenko reported substantial damage and a serious blaze elsewhere on the site.

Tkachenko accused Russia of deliberately targeting "the heart of one of the largest Christian shrines" and denounced the assault as another Russian crime "against humanity, against history, against Christianity." He appealed for prayers to save the complex. A senior Ukrainian official, quoted by domestic media, said: "This is their deliberate decision," reflecting Kyiv's broader claim that Moscow is systematically targeting civilian structures.

UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, said it condemned the attack on the monastery. The site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list for decades and is one of Ukraine's most visited religious landmarks, drawing Orthodox pilgrims and tourists year-round. The damage raised fresh concerns about the protection of cultural property during the war.

Kharkiv rescuers among the dead

In the eastern city of Kharkiv, a separate Russian attack killed five rescuers, according to Ukrainian officials, underscoring the nationwide scope of the overnight bombardment. Air-raid alerts sounded across multiple regions as Ukraine's air force reported intercepting some of the incoming drones and missiles, though officials did not provide a full breakdown of what was shot down.

Russia's Defense Ministry in Moscow said its strikes had targeted military objectives, a claim Kyiv and its Western backers reject. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Moscow of using long-range weapons against residential areas and civilian infrastructure in an effort to break Ukrainian morale.

The overnight attack came against the backdrop of continued fighting along the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, where Russian forces have pressed offensives around several towns. Ukrainian air defenses, bolstered by Western-supplied systems, have struggled to cope with the combined use of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which have become a staple of Moscow's nightly bombardments.

Heritage protection and international law

International humanitarian law requires parties to a conflict to spare cultural property and civilian objects, and the 1954 Hague Convention obliges signatories to refrain from using heritage sites for military purposes. Ukraine's Culture Ministry said it was documenting the damage at the Lavra to submit a formal report to UNESCO, which has been tracking threats to Ukrainian heritage since 2022.

Rescue crews worked through the morning to extinguish fires at the monastery and at several apartment blocks in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Emergency services set up triage points near the blast sites, and officials urged residents of damaged buildings to report missing relatives through a dedicated hotline.