Russian Strikes Kill Nine Ukrainians, Damage Kyiv Dormition Cathedral Ahead of G7 Meeting
Nine individuals have been killed and numerous others injured following a series of Russian strikes across Ukraine, which also caused significant damage to a historic religious site in Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials confirmed four deaths in Kyiv from the attacks. Additionally, five rescue workers perished while attempting to extinguish a fire ignited by a Russian strike in Kharkiv, a city in the north-east of the country. The 11th-century Dormition Cathedral, situated within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, sustained considerable damage. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko characterised the event as a “brutal assault on our people and our heritage.”
Conversely, a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian city of Tula, located south of Moscow, resulted in three fatalities and three injuries, including a one-year-old, according to Russian officials.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that the drone and missile strikes in the capital ignited buildings and vehicles, leaving over 140,000 residents without electricity. Most of Ukraine was under air raid warnings throughout Monday. The Kyiv strikes, which targeted several residential buildings, wounded at least 23 people, with a further five injured in Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that the nation would “urgently initiate all relevant procedures within UNESCO and all other international mechanisms, demanding immediate and adequate responses to this state barbarism,” in reference to the cathedral’s damage. Neighbouring Poland confirmed it had scrambled fighter jets and activated ground-based air defence systems as a “preventive” measure in response to the Russian bombardments.
These strikes precede a G7 meeting scheduled this week in France, where the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is a central topic for discussion. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he had conversed with US President Donald Trump regarding efforts to de-escalate the protracted conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
