Russia launched a massive assault on multiple Ukrainian cities overnight, firing 70 missiles and 611 drones. The offensive killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens more, marking a severe escalation in aerial warfare.
The attack sparked a devastating fire at the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, setting the roof of the 11th-century Dormition Cathedral ablaze. Founded nearly a millennium ago, the monastery holds profound spiritual significance for Orthodox believers in both Ukraine and Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strike as one of Russia's gravest offenses against Christian culture.
Russia's military claimed responsibility for a mass strike on military targets in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro but denied hitting the holy site, alleging without evidence that a Ukrainian air defense missile caused the damage. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot compared the cultural impact to a bombing of Notre Dame in Paris.
As firefighters battled the flames, church bells rang the Ukrainian anthem over the cleanup. Zelenskyy urgently appealed to G7 leaders, gathering in France, for decisive new pressure on Moscow and enhanced anti-ballistic air defense capabilities. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the summit would address intensifying sanctions to force President Putin toward negotiations.
The attack coincided with diplomatic shifts, coming hours after a U.S.-brokered peace deal on a separate conflict and direct calls between Presidents Zelenskyy, Putin, and Trump regarding the war.