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During the night of June 15, Kyiv came under a massive Russian attack involving missiles and drones. Four people were killed and at least 30 others were injured. According to Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat, it was one of the largest attacks in terms of the number of ballistic missiles used. Damage was recorded across nearly every district of the capital.
One of the hardest-hit sites was the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. A direct drone strike caused a fire on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, covering an area of approximately 800 square meters. Employees of the national preserve managed to evacuate icons and museum exhibits, but the building itself suffered significant damage, including destruction of the roof and damage to frescoes and structural elements. The Lavra is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Russian forces also struck the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio. The costume department was almost completely destroyed by fire. The facility housed approximately 100,000 costumes and clothing items from around the world.
Fires and destruction were reported in nearly all districts of Kyiv. The roof of the Mystetskyi Arsenal museum complex caught fire, while residential buildings, kindergartens, and schools were damaged in the Shevchenkivskyi, Podilskyi, Desnianskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture, Tetiana Berezhna, stressed that the destruction of cultural sites is an attempt to strike at the memory and identity of the Ukrainian people.
“Russian forces damaged the Dormition Cathedral. When the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra comes under attack, it is not only Ukraine that is affected. This is heritage that belongs to all humanity. We call on the international community to increase pressure on the aggressor state, which continues to deliberately target Ukrainians and the world’s cultural heritage,” she wrote on social media.
As previously reported, Russian forces struck the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio in Kyiv. Around 100,000 costumes and approximately 3 million individual items of clothing were stored there. Several additional buildings and facilities on the studio’s grounds were also damaged.
Read also: Council of Europe Chief Condemns Damage to Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra After Russian Attack on Kyiv
