Photo: Kyiv Pechersk Lavra damaged for the first time since World War II
On the night of 24 January, Russian forces carried out a massive missile strike on Kyiv, damaging monuments of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine reported.
This marks the first time the Lavra’s sacred sites have been damaged by military action since World War II.
The main impact hit Building No. 66, the entrance to the Far Caves complex, and Building No. 67, the Annunciation Church.
The explosion shattered windows, damaged doors, and caused numerous cracks on the facades of the buildings.
Reserve staff are documenting all damage for assessment and for recording a war crime.
Ukraine’s Minister of Culture, Tetiana Berezhna, described the strike as a direct attack by Russia on world heritage, emphasizing that destroying cultural monuments is a crime against all humanity.
Since the full-scale invasion began, Russian forces have damaged over 1,600 cultural heritage sites across Ukraine, each case carefully documented for international courts.
Reminder: Russian attacks also targeted drones and civilian infrastructure in Chernihiv Oblast, as well as grain storage facilities in the same region.
