A historic Ukrainian monastery was damaged in a Russian attack that killed at least 11 people and injured many more. The attack on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a world-renowned religious landmark, was part of a larger barrage of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles fired at Ukraine’s biggest cities.

Religious Site Damaged

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. The roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity,” and appealed for prayers to save the site. Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the attack Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.”

International Response

The attack is set to feature in talks by G7 leaders at a summit in France, with Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump due to attend. The Ukrainian leader will push his country’s plight while the Iran War diverts international attention.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the “equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame” in Paris. Ukraine’s National Commission for UNESCO urged the international community to step up pressure on Moscow to stop its invasion and to throw it out of the organization.

Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.