Russian barrage hits Kyiv, fire damages UNESCO-listed cathedral

Russian drones and missiles slammed into Kyiv overnight, killing at least five people and setting fire to the roof of the Dormition Cathedral inside the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most sacred and recognizable landmarks. Emergency crews extinguished the blaze after firefighters worked from inside the cathedral and from aerial platforms, but the strike left the capital grappling with both civilian casualties and damage to a site that carries deep religious and national symbolism.

Ukrainian air force figures showed the scale of the assault: Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones across the country, while Ukraine said 50 missiles and 582 drones were shot down or otherwise suppressed. Even so, 20 ballistic missiles and 27 drones hit 42 locations, underscoring the strain on Ukraine’s air defenses as Russia continues to combine missiles and drones in large, coordinated waves. Ukrainian officials said it was the largest combined Russian strike since June 1.

In Kyiv, authorities said at least 28 people were injured, including a pregnant woman and two children, with later tallies putting the number of wounded at 29. Some local reports also said 23 people were injured and about 140,000 residents in northern districts lost electricity after the attack. Several multi-story residential buildings were struck as the capital absorbed the impact of a barrage that hit homes, power infrastructure and one of the country’s most important religious complexes.

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, founded in the 11th century and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, has survived centuries of war and damage, including the Mongol invasions and World War II. Officials described this as only the third strike on the site since World War II and the second during Russia’s full-scale war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched more than 60 missiles at the capital and described the assault as one of the biggest Russian crimes against Christian culture to date. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it “barbaric,” while Orthodox Church of Ukraine leader Metropolitan Epiphanius said the burning cathedral was a “crime against humanity, history and Christianity.”

The wider bombardment also reached Kharkiv, where five rescue workers were killed during firefighting operations and at least five others were wounded. Additional strikes were reported in the Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions, showing a campaign aimed not only at military pressure but at wearing down Ukraine’s civilian resilience and the defenses protecting it.