Firefighters and workers were clearing debris on Monday after what Ukraine described as a deliberate Russian strike severely damaged a nearly 1,000-year-old cathedral in Kyiv, one of the country's most important religious and cultural landmarks.
The attack sparked a fire on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, the main church of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, whose golden domes have dominated the Ukrainian capital's skyline for centuries.
Massive plumes of black smoke rose above the cathedral in the early hours of Monday as firefighters used cranes and helicopters to battle the blaze. The fire was extinguished by 9 a.m. local time.
Ukraine's First Deputy Culture Minister, Ivan Verbytskyi, said the monastery's most valuable religious relics had been removed before they could be damaged.
Although the roof suffered extensive fire damage, officials said the cathedral's structure and walls remained intact. The iconostasis, the ornate screen separating the nave from the sanctuary, also escaped significant destruction.
Inside the cathedral, water streamed down painted walls as employees rushed to salvage furniture and protect fragile frescoes and religious artefacts from further damage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as "one of Russia's most serious crimes against Christian culture to date".
Ukraine's security service, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said investigators recovered fragments of a Russian-made Geran-2 drone at the scene and released images of the debris.
Russia denied targeting the monastery, claiming the damage had instead been caused by a U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot air-defence missile.
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has previously suffered damage during the war, which began in February 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, Maksym Ostapenko, director-general of the monastery complex, said this was the first "deliberate, precise strike" on the cathedral itself and the most extensive damage seen so far.
"At the moment, we can see severe damage to all upper parts of the cathedral. There is a high risk for the part which is underneath, paintings, frescoes, iconostasis," he told Reuters.
The Dormition Cathedral has already endured destruction once before. According to Ostapenko, around 80% of the building was destroyed in a 1941 explosion ordered by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
The cathedral was rebuilt 25 years ago, while the restoration of its iconic iconostasis was completed only last year.
Among the treasures preserved at the site are silver panels recovered during archaeological excavations following the cathedral's destruction in 1941.
Officials and conservation experts are now assessing the full extent of the damage, particularly the threat posed to the cathedral's centuries-old frescoes and religious artefacts.
"This is one of the most renowned examples of Ukraine's cultural and historical heritage that Russia is targeting precisely to destroy," Ostapenko said, warning that the damage could have lasting consequences for one of Ukraine's most treasured spiritual symbols.
Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further militar...
A fire involving two gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port has prompted conflicting reports over whether the incident was caused by a drone strike or a...
Pakistan has declared hepatitis C a national emergency and launched a nationwide campaign to screen more than 164 million people, as it steps up effor...
French DJ and electropop musician Kavinsky, whose atmospheric sound shaped a generation of electronic music fans, has died at the age of 50, French authorities said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further military action if the groups launched new attacks against the kingdom.
Yemen warned the Houthis were seeking to replicate Iran's Strait of Hormuz strategy in the Red Sea, as U.S. President Donald Trump said there was a "good chance" of a deal with Tehran but warned strikes could resume if talks failed.
Moscow should stop linking Russia-Armenia relations to Azerbaijan, Baku's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada has said, after Russia again raised the Collective Security Treaty Organisation's role during the former Garabagh conflict.
Pakistani businesses are warning that growing difficulties in obtaining United Arab Emirates (UAE) visas are disrupting trade, delaying investment and limiting access to a key export market, despite both Islamabad and Abu Dhabi saying there is no official visa ban.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted three tankers and stopped them in Iran's southern waters early on Wednesday. It also announced a ballistic missile attack on two U.S. bases in Jordan.
On 29 July, AnewZ's Daybreak focused on meetings involving Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu, escalating tensions in the Middle East following U.S. military action, and the funeral of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.
The European Union has added Russian energy company Inter RAO to its latest sanctions package, raising questions over the future of Georgia's power sector. The move could have implications for electricity supplies in Tbilisi because of the company's indirect ownership of key energy assets.
Russia’s largest retailer Wildberries has begun searching for warehouse space in Kazakhstan, Moscow’s Kommersant newspaper has reported, citing sources in the real estate market. It comes after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged around 10 per cent of the online marketplace's logistics hubs in Russia.
Yerevan has seen a surge in Russians seeking apartments ahead of Moscow's parliamentary elections in September and amid rumours of mass mobilisation, Russian-language publication Verstka has reported, citing anecdotal evidence from local estate agents.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment