ALBAWABA - A huge fire erupted at the historic Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv following a missile attack during an overnight exchange of attacks between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine blamed the Russian army for carrying out a missile attack against the UNESCO-listed monastery. However, Moscow denied the accusations.
Ukraine's Minister of Culture Tetyana Berezhna said via a post online, "Russia struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site protected under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention. The Dormition Cathedral was damaged."
She added, "We call on the international community to increase pressure on Russia, which continues its deliberate attacks on Ukrainian people, culture, and the world’s shared heritage."
Reuters reported that Russia rejected on Monday Kyiv's statement that it had struck the historic Pechersk Lavra monastery in the capital of Ukraine.
Moscow claimed that a U.S.-made Patriot air defence missile had damaged the religious site and caused fire. Russia's Defence Ministry said, "The armed forces of the Russian Federation do not plan or carry out strikes against civilian infrastructure."
The ministry added, "According to confirmed reports, the complex of buildings at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was struck by a missile from the American Patriot air defence system. One possible reason for the malfunction of this system could be that Western countries supplied the Kyiv regime with missiles that had expired."
Video showing a massive fire at the UNESCO World Heritage monastery was posted on social media amid Russia's heaviest air attack on the Ukrainian capital in two weeks.
Firefighters work at a site of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery. (Ukraine minister of culture/ X)
