Thirteen injured, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery on fire as Ukraine repels major Russian air attacks
Major Russian Air Attacks Cause Devastation in Kyiv and Beyond
By Jekaterina Golubkova
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery Damaged
June 15 (Reuters) - Thirteen people were injured and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a symbol of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural history, caught fire following a major Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital, authorities said early on Monday, urging residents to take shelter.
Impact on Infrastructure and Residents
The air attack damaged electricity lines and left 140,000 Kyiv residents without power, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that some houses and cars also caught fire after being hit by drone debris.
Damage to UNESCO World Heritage Site
The central Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was seriously damaged in a direct attack, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the capital's military administration, said in a separate Telegram post.
Ukrainian Leadership Responds
"A brutal assault on our people and our heritage. This is the true face of Russia's Orthodox values," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X, with her post showing the monastery buildings in flames.
Wider Attacks and International Response
The city was under a massive missile attack, with a high-rise apartment building also on fire, according Kyiv authorities.
Drones continue to attack Kyiv from different directions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Telegram, with explosions heard in the city, a Reuters witness said.
Poland's Defensive Measures
Neighbouring Poland, a European Union and a NATO member, has scrambled its fighter jets and put ground-based air defence systems and radar reconnaissance on a state of readiness, Poland's Armed Forces said in a post on X.
Air Raid Warnings Across Ukraine
Most of Ukraine's territory was under air raid warnings in the early hours of Monday.
Casualties in Kharkiv and Dnipro
Five emergency service rescues were killed and at least another five injured after a second Russian strike hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram, with attacks also in the region of Dnipro, according to social media posts by local authorities.
Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.
Ukraine's Counterattacks and Diplomatic Efforts
Ukraine has recently intensified attacks on Russian industrial and energy facilities, as it tries to deprive Moscow from revenues to bring the end to the war closer.
International Diplomacy and Peace Talks
The latest strikes come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to achieve an end to the more than four-year war, ahead of a G7 meeting in France this week.
Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday that ending the conflict in Ukraine was vital and he was ready to help, the Kremlin said.
Progress Towards Peace Agreements
Progress towards a peace agreement in Ukraine has been slow, with U.S. officials and mediators concentrating on the conflict in the Middle East. U.S. and Iranian officials said on Sunday they had agreed on a peace framework to end their war, with the pact expected to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland.
(Reporting by Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Lincoln Feast and Kim Coghill)
