Russia strikes Kyiv's UNESCO monastery and residential blocks, killing 11 in overnight barrage
Overnight barrage of missiles and drones damaged the UNESCO-listed monastery, set residential high-rises ablaze, and killed five rescue workers in a double-tap strike in Kharkiv.
Russia unleashed one of its heaviest air attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of Monday, firing hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at the capital Kyiv, the second city Kharkiv and the Dnipro region. The barrage caused fires in apartment blocks, knocked out electricity for 140,000 residents, and struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage monastery complex, where the roof of the Dormition Cathedral burned.
- Drones
- 611 units
- Ballistic missiles
- 34 units
- Cruise missiles
- 30 units
- Hypersonic Zirkon missiles
- 6 units
Monastery in flames
The strike on the 11th-century Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, sent flames through the cathedral's roof. Ukraine's emergency services spokesman Oleksandr Khorunzhyi said rescuers had to dismantle wooden structures under the roof, making the operation "particularly difficult and labour-intensive". About 800 square metres of roofing were destroyed, though initial reports indicated icons and other valuables survived. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) later published photos of the remnants of a Russian Geran kamikaze drone, a copy of the Iranian Shahed, found on the monastery grounds.
One of the holiest places of the Christian world is in flames. This is a Russian crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the damaged cathedral on Monday morning and said two drones had "deliberately" struck the district where the monastery is located. Russia denied targeting the religious site, claiming that a Ukrainian air-defence missile had hit the cathedral, a claim Kyiv officials declined to address directly.
Civilian deaths and the Kharkiv double strike
In Kharkiv, a second Russian missile struck while emergency crews were responding to the aftermath of an earlier hit, killing five rescue workers and wounding at least five others. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed the deaths. City authorities in Kyiv reported five people killed and 35 injured, while nationwide the death toll stood at 11 as of Monday afternoon. Among the injured in Kyiv were 13 people who sought medical help, including a child, after strikes on the Shevchenkivskyi district's high-rise apartment building, a market and a grocery store. A nine-storey residential building in Obolonskyi district took a direct hit.
This is their deliberate decision. Kyiv is under the main strike. There is significant destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack damaged power lines, leaving 140,000 people without electricity, and fires broke out in houses and cars hit by falling drone debris.
How the night unfolded
Ukrainian air defences managed to shoot down 582 of the 611 drones, 15 of the 34 ballistic missiles, and 35 of the 30 cruise missiles launched, according to military statements. Hypersonic Zirkon missiles were among the weapons used.
- Russia begins massive overnight air attack on Ukraine with drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
- Strikes hit Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district in under 30 minutes; a 25-storey apartment building, market and grocery store are hit.
- Dormition Cathedral at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra catches fire after drone strike.
- Rescue workers killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike while battling flames from an earlier hit.
- Zelenskyy inspects damage and calls on G7 to respond decisively; Russia denies targeting the monastery.
A brutal assault on our people and our heritage. This is the true face of Russia's Orthodox values.
International response and the G7
Zelenskyy, who is due to attend a G7 summit in Évian, France, on Monday evening, called on the group to deliver a "decisive answer" to the attacks and threatened Moscow with "a just response". He stressed the need for more air-defence support, especially against ballistic missiles.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the G7 would discuss further pressure on Russia, writing on social media: "Europe wants peace. Nobody more than the Ukrainian people. Russia, on the other hand, has once again shown that it is only interested in violence and destruction."
Poland scrambled fighter jets and placed its ground-based air defences and radar systems on alert. UNESCO condemned the strike on the Lavra, saying that buildings and fortifications had been damaged, and pledged to help assess the destruction.
The attack came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling Putin that ending the conflict was vital and he was ready to help, according to the Kremlin. No peace deal has been reached.
