‘Possessed maniacs with their Shaheds’: Zelensky condemns Russian attack damaging historic Kyiv cathedral

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s most recent attack on Kyiv “unacceptable and catastrophic” after a blast wave damaged the facade of the city’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“In the capital, even Saint Sophia Cathedral was damaged: part of the cathedral's facade collapsed under the blast wave. To all those who truly know history and feel connected to Christianity, even the slightest threat of damage or destruction to Saint Sophia is utterly unacceptable, indeed catastrophic. But not for Russia. Possessed maniacs with their ‘Shahed’ [drones] and the red button. Catastrophe is the very purpose of their existence. They produce nothing else – and will leave nothing behind,” Zelensky said in a video address on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president called on the international community to respond to Russia’s attacks. “They must be stopped. And it is not only we in Ukraine that need this – the whole world will benefit when Russia is forced into peace,” he said.