Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight into June 15. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that a fire broke out on the grounds of the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of Eastern Europe’s most significant Orthodox Christian monasteries. The roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire, with flames spreading across 800 square meters. Firefighters had extinguished the blaze on the cathedral roof by 8:35 a.m. local time.
Four people were killed in the strikes on Kyiv, and at least 23 others were injured, including a child. Buildings were damaged in nine districts of the city, and 26 fires broke out in total.
While rescue crews were trying to extinguish the fire at the Dormition Cathedral, Russian forces launched another strike affecting the nearby Mystetskyi Arsenal museum complex. The fire there covered 1,000 square meters. One workshop at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio was also destroyed.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was hit by a missile from a U.S.-made Patriot air defense system. Ukraine uses Patriot systems to intercept Russian missile attacks.
In total, Russian forces launched 70 missiles and more than 600 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to a statement by President Volodymyr Zelensky. More than 60 of the missiles targeted Kyiv, he said.
In Kharkiv, rescue workers from the State Emergency Service were killed in a double tap strike while extinguishing a fire. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said a total of five people were killed in the city: four rescuers and a civil protection specialist from the Kharkiv regional military administration.
The grounds of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra came under fire for the first time during the full-scale invasion this past January.
