Today at 20:05
International leaders and officials have strongly condemned Russia’s overnight strike on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which caused major damage to the UNESCO World Heritage site, UATV English reports.
The international community continues to react to Russia’s overnight strike on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the attack demonstrated that Moscow has no genuine interest in peace.
“Attacks on a UNESCO site are truly incredibly serious. They show that Russia does not want to sit down at the negotiating table.”
Tajani added that Kyiv is also a religious capital and that the attack could offend the feelings of Christians around the world, including Orthodox believers in Russia.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli condemned the strike, describing the Lavra as “a symbol of the history and spirituality of the Ukrainian people.”
“The destruction of a World Heritage site is an insult to a legacy that belongs to all humanity and an attack on memory, identity, and the shared values of the international community.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Russia’s aggression against Ukraine unacceptable.
“When attacks do not spare even thousand-year-old symbols of Christianity, we need steadfast support for Kyiv.”
Meloni said support for Ukraine and efforts to achieve peace would be central topics at the G7 summit.
Switzerland also condemned the attacks, with the Swiss Embassy in Kyiv expressing concern over the severe damage inflicted on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the Lavra as “a sacred site of Ukraine and Eastern Christianity.”
“Canada stands with Ukraine. Their fight for freedom, democracy, and sovereignty is our cause as well.”
Hungarian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Anita Orbán said Hungary strongly condemns the attack and the damage caused to the Lavra and the Dormition Cathedral.
“The Lavra is one of the holiest sites of Eastern Orthodoxy. Any attack on civilian infrastructure, especially religious sites, is unacceptable.”
French President Emmanuel Macron described the strike as “an attack on our world heritage.”
“Nothing can justify a strike against a religious monument such as the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.”
Macron said France stands ready to support Ukraine and that the attack only strengthens efforts to achieve a ceasefire that Russia continues to reject.
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Petra Bayr stated that Russia’s attacks demonstrate its desire for escalation rather than peace.
Czech President Petr Pavel said Russia is deliberately trying to destroy what it can never possess.
“The attacks on cultural landmarks, including the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, reveal Russia’s desperation and barbarism.”
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset said the damage to the Lavra represents yet another escalation in Russia’s campaign of destruction.
“This UNESCO World Heritage site is one of Ukraine’s treasures and part of Europe’s shared cultural heritage.”
President of the European Council António Costa said G7 leaders would discuss increasing pressure on Russia to bring it to the negotiating table.
“These attacks demonstrate Russia’s unwillingness to engage seriously in peace negotiations. But time is not on Russia’s side.”
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the strike as an attack on heritage that belongs to all humanity.
“The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has stood for nearly a thousand years. There is no military logic here — only the deliberate infliction of suffering on people and on humanity’s shared heritage.”
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the attack as “an act of deliberate sacrilege” and pledged support for Ukraine’s appeal to UNESCO.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen called for Russia to be held fully accountable.
“Russia must bear full responsibility for deliberate attacks on civilians. These are blatant war crimes.”
The fire at the Dormition Cathedral, caused by the June 15 attack, spread across approximately 800 square meters before being brought under control by emergency services.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna described the attack as a demonstration of “barbarism and contempt” for humanity’s cultural heritage.
“Russia likes to portray itself as a guardian of Christian civilization. By striking the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, it has once again demonstrated its barbarism and disregard for our shared human heritage,” Tsahkna wrote on X.
He stressed that one of Christianity’s holiest monasteries, a place of worship for nearly a thousand years, was set ablaze because of Russia’s actions.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže called for preventing the “normalization” of Russia’s war and urged institutions such as Venice Biennale and UNESCO not to allow Russian participation in international cultural events.
“Russia’s attack on Christian cultural and religious treasures reveals its true face of ruthless barbarism and desperation in the face of Ukraine’s fearless struggle for freedom and liberation,” she said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the strike as an example of Putin’s “cruelty” and compared the damage to the Dormition Cathedral to the bombing of France’s most cherished landmarks.
“For us French, this is the equivalent of bombing Notre-Dame or Saint-Denis,” Barrot said.
He added that France and the European Union would continue and strengthen their support for Ukraine, including through the EU accession process and preparations for a future peace settlement.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said the attack demonstrated Russia’s complete disregard for human life, cultural heritage, and spiritual traditions.
“For the aggressor, nothing is sacred. Russia’s attack on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Orthodoxy’s holiest sites, shows a frenzied contempt for human life, cultural heritage, and the very spiritual tradition Russia claims as its own,” Nausėda stated.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu declared that Moldova stands with Ukraine and called for increased pressure on Russia.
“The Kremlin has once again shown that nothing is sacred to it. Those who claim to defend Christian values bombed the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of the holiest sites of Orthodoxy. True faith does not bomb cathedrals,” Sandu said.
American pastor Mark Burns, a spiritual adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, expressed solidarity with Ukraine after learning that Russian missiles had struck one of the country’s most sacred religious sites and a UNESCO World Heritage location.
“I pray for everyone’s safety and that no lives are lost. May God protect Ukraine, comfort its people, and bring peace to this suffering nation,” Burns wrote.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also condemned the attack on behalf of the European Commission.
“They killed rescuers in Kharkiv, wounded civilians in Kyiv, and set fire to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most important religious landmarks,” she said.
Kos noted that on the very day Ukraine opens its first accession negotiation cluster with the European Union, Moscow is once again revealing its deepest geopolitical fears.
“What it fears most — a democratic Ukraine firmly anchored in Europe — is becoming reality,” she emphasized.
Following Russia’s massive overnight attack on Kyiv, emergency crews continue to deal with the aftermath of the fire at the Dormition Cathedral, where the blaze spread across approximately 800 square meters.
Read also: Zelenskyy at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra: We will restore everything
