At least nine people died in an overnight wave of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian targets, including in the capital.
Five first responders died attempting to extinguish a fire caused by a strike on the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. Four people were killed—with at least 23 people wounded—in attacks on Kyiv itself, where more than 140,000 people lost their electricity supply, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Although Russia denied responsibility, the 11th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Dormition Cathedral, suffered serious damage in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called
one of the biggest Russian crimes against Christian culture today.
He was supported by French president and G7 host Emmanuel Macron, who condemned the strike on social media, stating
Nothing justifies this attack on our universal heritage.
Zelensky also claimed on Monday, June 15th, that he had offered, without response, to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin at this week’s G7 summit in France for peace talks to end a four-year war.
At the same time, Russian officials alleged a Ukrainian drone attack on Tula killed three people and wounded three others, including a one-year-old.
The Dormithon Cathedral is part of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery. In early 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture terminated the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s (UOC) lease of the site, citing national security and accusing monks and clergy of pro-Russian sympathies. The government ordered the monks to vacate by late March 2023 to strengthen Ukraine’s “spiritual independence” and support the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The monks and leaders denied ongoing Moscow ties—the UOC claimed full independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022—and rejected the eviction as politically motivated and legally baseless, and largely defied the deadline, leading to standoffs, scuffles, and court cases. Some monks remained, with ongoing legal disputes and tensions reported as late as 2026.
