Putin and Zelensky
Susan Abayomi
A major Russian missile and drone barrage struck Ukraine overnight on June 15, 2026, killing at least nine people and setting fire to the historic Dormition Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The UNESCO World Heritage monastery, founded in 1051, is one of the most important Orthodox Christian sites in Eastern Europe and had not been targeted directly since World War II. Video and photos showed flames tearing through the cathedral’s roof and iconic golden domes as firefighters battled the blaze into Monday morning.
Four people died in Kyiv and five rescue workers were killed in Kharkiv when a second Russian strike hit as they fought fires from an earlier attack. At least 46 civilians were wounded across Ukraine, including four children, while more than 140,000 Kyiv residents lost electricity after transmission lines were damaged. The assault involved 70 missiles and 611 drones nationwide, with Ukraine’s air defense shooting down 50 missiles and 582 drones. Ballistic missiles remained a particular problem, with only 15 of 34 intercepted.
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra suffered substantial damage. Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, wrote that “the roof of one of the holiest places in the Christian world — the Dormition Cathedral — is burning” and called for prayers to save the shrine. Acting abbot Bishop Avraamiy said an emergency evacuation of holy and liturgical objects, ancient icons, and relics was organized as the fire spread. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko condemned it as a “brutal assault on our people and our heritage” and “another Russian crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.
Across Kyiv, strikes hit 16 sites in less than 30 minutes. A 25-story apartment building in Shevchenkivskyi district, a nine-story building in Solomianskyi, a market, and a grocery store caught fire. A five-story residential building in Pechersk and a three-story building in Podil were also damaged. The Mystetskyi Arsenal gallery and museum opposite the Lavra was struck by a Shahed drone and caught fire. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attacks left 140,000 subscribers without power and that more than 50 locations were struck.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied striking the monastery and claimed a U.S.-made Patriot air defence missile caused the damage, suggesting it may have misfired because Western countries supplied expired missiles. It said Russian forces do not plan or carry out strikes against civilian infrastructure and that the attack targeted drone manufacturing facilities. Ukraine and Western governments rejected the claim, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it “one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.
The Lavra was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list in 2023 “due to the threat of destruction the Russian offensive poses”. The complex is a major spiritual and cultural center comprising surface and underground churches where relics of saints have been buried for centuries. The site had previously been run by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church tied to the Moscow Patriarchate, and several clerics were accused by Ukrainian security services of collaborating with Russia.
The attack came as diplomatic efforts elsewhere progressed. On the same day, news broke of a U.S.-Iran peace deal to end their war, with a signing planned in Switzerland. Zelensky said he had spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump about ending the war in Ukraine ahead of a G7 meeting in France. Trump told Putin that ending the conflict was vital and he was ready to help, according to the Kremlin.
In Kharkiv, five emergency workers died and at least five others were wounded in the “double-tap” strike on rescuers. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Kyiv was “under the main strike” with “significant destruction of civilian infrastructure”. The attack was described as the heaviest on Kyiv in two weeks and one of the most concentrated barrages of the year, with apocalyptic scenes of explosions lighting up the sky over the capital.
