Kyiv cathedral burns as heavy Russian air raids hit Ukraine

In PicturesSaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkRescue workers battle flames at the Dormition Cathedral in the 1,000-year-old Monastery of the Caves, also known as the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]By AFP, AP and ReutersPublished On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026Russia has unleashed one of its heaviest air raids on Ukraine in weeks, killing rescuers in the northeast and setting a historic cathedral ablaze in Kyiv, even as diplomatic moves elsewhere raised faint hopes of wider de-escalation.Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight, most of them at the capital, and that air defences shot down 50 missiles and 582 drones. Officials said at least four people were killed and about 30 injured in Kyiv, including children, as missiles and drone debris hit apartment blocks, markets and power lines, plunging some 140,000 residents into darkness.The Dormition Cathedral in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site, caught fire after what local authorities said was a direct hit. Flames tore through the roof of the landmark overlooking the Dnipro River, with Metropolitan Epiphanius of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine calling the strike “a crime against humanity, history and Christianity”.In Kharkiv, officials said Russia used a “double tap” tactic, launching further strikes on the site of an earlier attack and killing four emergency service workers and a municipal official. Additional attacks were reported in Dnipro and the Sumy region.Moscow’s Ministry of Defence said its forces used long-range precision weapons and drones to hit military-industrial facilities, conscription offices and airbases, insisting their goals had been achieved.Ukraine has stepped up its own long-range attacks, saying a drone attack killed three people in the Russian city of Tula and that bridges to occupied Crimea were hit in a bid to cut supply lines.The latest escalation came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with United States President Donald Trump, and Washington and Tehran announced a framework to end their war – underscoring how efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine remain stalled more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.A firefighter works amid smouldering debris at a Kyiv apartment block hit in Russia’s latest wave of missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]A resident carries his belongings out of a damaged residential building in Kyiv after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital. [Oleksii Filippov/AFP]The assault, which struck multiple cities including the capital, marked one of the most destructive aerial bombardments on Kyiv’s cultural and civilian infrastructure in months, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. [Alina Smutko/Reuters]People shelter in a metro station during a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. [Serhii Okunev/AFP]A golden cupola from one of the churches of the damaged Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, lies on the ground near the Mystetskyi Arsenal Art Gallery, also damaged following Russia's drone and missile attack in Kyiv. [Efrem LukatskyAP Photo]In Kyiv, emergency services battled a severe blaze that broke out in the early hours on the roof of the 11th-century Dormition Cathedral, the spiritual heart of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. [Serhii Okunev/AFP]A series of powerful explosions echoed across Kyiv, with a wave of ballistic missiles followed by drones as many people sought shelter underground and officials urged residents to take cover. [Serhii Okunev/AFP]Firefighters put out a fire at a city marketplace following a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv. [Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo]Ukrainian officials including the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that strikes hit various districts. [Reuters]A resident stands in front of an apartment building, which was hit during Russian missile and drone attacks in Kyiv. [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]