Nine Killed as Russian Strikes Devastate Ukrainian Capital and Historic Cathedral
Russian warplanes carried out a ferocious bombing campaign across Ukraine on Monday. The attacks killed nine civilians, injured dozens more and set the ancient Dormition Cathedral on fire in Kyiv’s historic Pechersk Lavra monastery.
Four people were killed in the city of Kyiv, while five rescue workers lost their lives fighting a blaze sparked by a strike in north‑eastern Kharkiv. In total, the strikes left at least 23 people wounded in Kyiv and five in Kharkiv.
The Dormition Cathedral fires after the strike.
The 11th‑century cathedral sustained severe damage, a loss the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, described as a “brutal assault on our people and our heritage.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha pledged to engage UNESCO and other international bodies in retaliation against what he termed state barbarism.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s Tula killed three people and wounded a one‑year‑old, illustrating the fight’s spill‑over into Russian territory.
The combined drone and missile attacks sparked fires in buildings and cars across Kyiv, leaving more than 140,000 residents without electricity. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said most of Ukraine was under air‑raid warnings.
Kyiv residents take shelter in a metro station during the strikes.
Poland scrambled fighter jets and placed ground‑based air‑defence systems on alert, declaring a “preventive” stance against the aggression.
The attacks come as the G7 heads to France for a summit where the war in Ukraine is a principal agenda item.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed he had spoken with former U.S. President Donald Trump to seek assistance in ending the long‑running conflict.
The Russian‑initiated full‑scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, and the country’s resilience continues to be tested by these new waves of violence.
