In photos: Kyiv’s historic Pechersk Lavra monastery burns after a Russian strike

Russia struck Kyiv overnight on June 15. The attack set fire to the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a historic and architectural monument on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Icons and relics were carried out of the lavra to save them from the flames. According to director general Maksym Ostapenko, Russia carried out two targeted strikes aimed at destroying the Dormition Cathedral. One of the drones hit the center of the cathedral. The second strike hit the Ivan Kushchnyk Tower and the nearby Mystetskyi Arsenal museum complex. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine would seek action from UNESCO and other international bodies over what he called an act of “state barbarism.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strike “one of the largest Russian crimes against Christian culture.”