Russian Strike Damages UNESCO Cathedral in Kyiv, Hits National Film Archive

A massive Russian attack on Kyiv with missiles and drones has severely damaged the Dormition Cathedral, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Monastery of the Caves. The strike also hit the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Centre, which holds Ukraine’s largest and oldest costume collection and an archive of over 7,000 historical films. At least nine people died across the country, including four in Kyiv. Residents hid in underground bunkers as waves of drones and explosions shook the capital. Russia said Monday that its attack targeted military and industrial sites. But the strike on the monastery complex appears deliberate, according to Ukrainian officials. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack on the cathedral “one of Russia’s gravest crimes against Christian culture to date.” He urged G7 leaders, meeting Monday in France, to increase pressure on Moscow. “It is essential that the G7 countries respond decisively: more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense,” he said. Ukraine will urgently begin procedures with UNESCO and other international bodies to ensure a response to what Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called “state barbarism.” France’s foreign ministry compared the attack on the monastery to an attack on Notre Dame Cathedral. Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said it showed Russia’s “cruelty.” As dawn broke and the monastery still burned, staff rang its bells in defiance. Zelensky said Sunday he spoke with Donald Trump about ending the conflict, now in its fourth year. Ukraine’s military reported Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight. Air defense shot down 50 missiles and 582 drones. The attack came as global attention focused on Trump’s latest efforts to sign a peace deal with Iran, and amid a wrestling show Trump held at the White House for his 80th birthday. Images showed flames around the monastery’s domes. Six people were reported injured. “The roof of one of the holiest sites in the Christian world is on fire,” wrote Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, on X. “What more does the Kremlin’s Antichrist have to do for the world to take decisive action?” Damage was reported at 16 locations in the capital. Four people died and 23 were wounded in Kyiv. In Kharkiv, at least five died in an apparent simultaneous attack on emergency workers. Before the strike, President Vladimir Putin had warned of “systemic” attacks on Ukraine. Kyiv had been relatively quiet in recent days as Moscow prepared its forces. Poland, a NATO member, deployed fighter jets and put its air defense systems on alert Monday morning.