As a result of a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the main church of the cave monastery, which is a world heritage site, caught fire.
June 15, 2026, 03:41June 15, 2026, 03:41
“According to operational information, there is serious damage on the site of the Cave Monastery,” wrote the military governor of the city of three million, Tymur Tkachenko, on Telegram. Images circulating on social networks showed flames in the roof area of the Assumption Cathedral with its gilded domes. It is located on the monastery grounds, which are Ukrainian state property.
Pictures showed parts of the UNESCO world heritage site in flames.Image: x
The Russian army attacked Kyiv with rockets on Monday night. In the city center, almost two dozen explosions were initially heard, presumably from the anti-aircraft defense, as a correspondent for the German Press Agency reported. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, there were impacts in three parts of the city and at least ten people were injured. There were also power outages and fires.
The extinguishing work on the historic building continued.Image: x
The centuries-old Kiev Pechersk Lavra also houses mummified remains of clergy in a branching underground cave system. It has been a world cultural heritage site since 1990 and is under the protection of the UN cultural organization Unesco. There are several museums on the site of the world-famous pilgrimage site on the Dnipro River, whose origins date back to the 11th century. Despite government pressure, the so-called lower part continues to be used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which saw itself as part of the Moscow Patriarchate until the Russian invasion in 2022, but has since broken away from Moscow.
Ukraine has been resisting the Russian invasion for more than four years and is attacked from the air almost daily. (sda/dpa)