Russian strike sets Kyiv's 11th-century Dormition Cathedral ablaze, killing 11 on eve of G7 summit

Attack on the monastery

More than 80 years after the Dormition Cathedral was destroyed during World War II, the rebuilt golden-domed church caught fire overnight on Sunday as Russia launched a large-scale bombardment across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said two drones deliberately struck the historic monastic complex, which dates to the 11th century. Emergency crews battled flames that tore through the roof and interior of the cathedral, one of the oldest active Eastern Christian sites in the world.

This is, as of today, one of the largest Russian crimes against Christian culture.

Civilian toll across Ukraine

In Kharkiv, five rescue workers were killed by a second strike while they fought a blaze ignited by an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Another five emergency workers were wounded. In the capital, ballistic missiles and Shahed drones sent residents scrambling underground. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that thirteen people, including a child, sought medical help. Five strikes hit civilian sites in the Shevchenkivskyi district within 30 minutes, including a 25-storey apartment building, a market and a grocery store. A nine-storey block in the Obolonskyi district took a direct hit.

Competing narratives over the cause

Ukraine’s emergency services displayed wreckage they said was from a Russian Geran-2 drone found at the monastery site. Russia’s defence ministry denied targeting civilian infrastructure and claimed on Telegram that an “expired” American Patriot missile misfired and struck the complex. The cause of the destruction has not been independently confirmed. UNESCO condemned the strike attributed to Russia, which it said “caused significant damage to the exterior and interior of the Dormition Cathedral”.

Attacks against a UNESCO site really are incredibly serious. They demonstrate that Russia does not want to sit at the peace table.

International condemnation and G7 backdrop

The attack unfolded hours before the G7 summit opened in Évian-les-Bains, France. Ambassador Carlo Formosa visited the damaged site alongside Deputy Prime Minister Tetyana Berezhna, calling it a deliberate assault on Ukrainian identity and culture. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking from Luxembourg, urged continued pressure on Moscow. The EU renewed sanctions on 34 people and 47 entities, while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised to tighten the net to force Putin to negotiations.

Zelensky’s appeal for support

Zelensky toured the smouldering cathedral in a black shirt and trousers, his face grim. He called for a “decisive and substantial” response from G7 leaders, pushing for more air-defence capabilities, especially anti-ballistic systems. According to the Ukrainian air force, Moscow launched about 70 missiles and over 600 drones in the overnight assault. The Ukrainian presidency said Russian forces have destroyed more than 338,000 civilian infrastructure sites since the full-scale invasion, including 937 cultural buildings and 336 places of worship.