Russia attacks Kyiv and Kharkiv: UNESCO-listed cathedral set on fire, at least 12 dead across Ukraine and Tula

Devastating night attack on Kyiv

Russia launched a large-scale overnight assault on Ukraine with missiles and one-way attack drones, hitting targets across the capital Kyiv and the second city Kharkiv. The strikes began in the early hours of 15 June and triggered air-raid alerts over much of the country. Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said through Telegram that four people had been killed in the capital and 23 wounded as of 05:40 local time, including a child. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage at 16 sites, with debris from intercepted drones sparking fires in residential buildings and vehicles.

UNESCO heritage site engulfed in flames

A direct hit set fire to the roof of the Cathedral of the Dormition inside the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex, a monastic site founded in 1051 and inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1990. Footage showed flames licking the domes of the cathedral, one of the most sacred places in Orthodox Christianity. Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, asked the faithful to pray and described the strike as a crime against humanity, history, and Christianity.

We ask you to pray for the monastery to be saved from destruction. This is a crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted images of the burning monastery and wrote that it was a violent attack against her people and heritage, calling it the true face of Russia's Orthodox values.

A violent attack against our people and our heritage. This is the true face of Russia's Orthodox values.

Rescuers killed in Kharkiv

In Kharkiv, Russian forces carried out repeated strikes on the same location, killing five emergency rescuers and wounding another five, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko stated. The tactic of hitting a site twice in succession in order to target first responders has been a recurring feature of Moscow's air campaign.

Power outages and Sumy casualty

Power lines were damaged during the barrage, leaving roughly 140,000 residents of Kyiv without electricity, according to Klitschko. Further north, near the Sumy region bordering Russia, local officials reported that three people were wounded, among them a child, after strikes hit the area.

Ukrainian drones strike Tula region

Hours after the attack on Ukrainian soil, Ukraine struck back. Three people were killed and three others injured, including a one-year-old child, in a drone attack on the city of Tula, a major industrial hub south of Moscow, governor Dmitry Milayev announced. Russia's defence ministry said air-defence forces repelled additional drones but did not provide further details. The cross-border raid targeted industrial and energy infrastructure, continuing Kyiv's strategy of eroding the revenue streams funding Moscow's war effort.