Russia launched a devastating missile offensive across Ukraine overnight, claiming at least nine lives and igniting a fire at Kyiv's historic Dormition Cathedral.
Five rescue workers died in Kharkiv when a secondary strike hit as they were fighting fires, according to Interior Minister Igor Klymenko. In the capital, four people were killed. At least 23 were injured city-wide, and a power outage left 140,000 residents in northern districts without electricity.
Fire engulfed the roof of the cathedral, located within the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex. Firefighters worked from the inside and from aerial platforms to contain the blaze that left a gaping hole in the structure. Kyiv's Metropolitan Epiphanius condemned the attack as a crime against history and Christianity.
Strikes also hit the cities of Dnipro and Sumy, wounding several more, including a child. On the Russian side, a Ukrainian drone strike on Tula killed three people.
The escalation unfolded on a day of diplomatic maneuvering. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin held separate calls with US President Donald Trump, discussing potential paths to peace while the conflict intensifies.