Russia launched missiles overnight, killing at least 11 people across Ukraine and setting off a fire at one of the most important Orthodox monasteries in the capital, Kiev.
AFP reporters across Kiev watched residents run through the streets seeking shelter throughout the night, as projectiles in the sky were intercepted and glowing debris fell across the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called on G7 leaders to put more pressure on Moscow as they gathered in France to spearhead a U.S.-Iran deal to end wars in the Middle East.
He also said he told U.S. President Donald Trump he would be willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the U.S., calling it an offer that Putin would “harder to refuse”.
A fire broke out at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kiev-Pechersk Monastery in Kiev, and the roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire in violence that left five people dead and 34 injured.
“This is one of the most serious crimes against Christian culture in Russia to date,” Zelensky said on social media.
The site was founded in the 11th century and is of great significance to Orthodox believers in Ukraine and Russia.
The Russian military said it carried out “massive strikes” on military sites in the Kiev, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions but denied targeting the monastery, saying it was hit by an outdated US Patriot anti-aircraft missile.
After visiting the site, Zelensky said that two Russian drones “deliberately” targeted Kiev’s monastery district.
The Ukrainian Air Force said 70 missiles and 611 drones were launched from Moscow, with the main target being the capital, adding that it had shot down 50 of the missiles and 582 drones.
Under the morning sunshine in Kiev, AFP reporters saw rescue workers carefully clearing the rubble of the monastery as church bells rang out to the tune of Ukraine’s national anthem.
Ukrainian security services said they were displaying the remains of one of the drones.
– “The Kremlin Antichrist” –
Makari, a monk who lives at the monastery, said he “jumped out of bed” after being awakened by a strong “roaring” at 5am.
After exiting the room, he saw the building engulfed in “fire and smoke” and took refuge in a shelter.
Emergency services worker Ivan told AFP that “everything is fine” at the Dormition Cathedral, but that its roof had suffered most of the damage.
The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, a monastery with its iconic golden dome, is revered by both the Russian and Ukrainian wings of Orthodoxy as one of their most important spiritual centers.
Its vast cave system preserves the relics of dozens of saints revered by both churches.
The Cathedral of the Dormition was set on fire in a nighttime attack and was almost completely destroyed during World War II and was only rebuilt in the 1990s.
For centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church administered the site through its Ukrainian chapter.
In 2022-2023, monks from the Ukrainian branch of the Moscow Church were expelled from their monasteries and accused of having ties to Russia.
The U.N. cultural agency UNESCO condemned the airstrike, as did Kiev Metropolitan Epiphanius, the leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“What more must the anti-Christ in the Kremlin do to impress upon the world the need for decisive action to stop Russia’s terror against Ukraine and the principles of peace?” he said.
– ‘Additional pressure required’ –
A total of 11 people died, including four in Kiev and five rescue workers and a civil servant in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
A Ukrainian drone strike killed three people and injured three others in the Russian city of Tula, about 200 kilometers south of Moscow, Dmitry Milyaev, the governor of the Russian city of Tula, said on Monday.
Zelensky said he was awaiting the outcome of his proposal to meet Putin in the United States and warned that “additional pressure will be needed” if Russia rejects talks again.
Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for face-to-face meetings, including a renewed invitation from Zelensky to meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has become Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Ukraine has stepped up its own airstrikes in recent weeks as Russian drones and missiles bombard its cities on an almost daily basis, attacks that it says are primarily targeting Russia’s oil infrastructure to eat into the profits that fund its war.
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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
