Kyiv's historic Pechersk Lavra burns as Russian rains ballistic missiles on capital

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia launched yet another round of ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv overnight on June 15, striking the city's historic Dormition Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine's most significant religious and cultural sites.

The mass attack has killed at least five people and injured 11 across the country.

Several multi-story residential buildings in Kyiv were struck in the Russian attack, officials said. At least six people in the capital have been injured, with four victims hospitalized.

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a labyrinthine monastery complex that holds some of Ukraine's most revered shrines and relics, came under fire — marking the second strike against the site of Russia's full-scale war and only the third since World War II.

"(T)he roof of one of the holiest places in the Christian world — the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — is burning," Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, wrote on X the night of the attack.

"We ask for prayers for the salvation of the shrine from destruction. Another Russian crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity."

Officials reported a fire on the roof of the historic cathedral, originally build in the 11th century as part of the wider monastery complex. The extent of the damage is not immediately clear.

Explosions were first heard in Kyiv around 1 a.m. local time by Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. A second round of explosions came amid a missile threat around 1:30 a.m. Journalists reported loud explosions near the city's Pechersk district — a cultural hub that gets its name from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.  

Ukraine's Air Force reported that dozens of Russian drones were approaching Kyiv amid active air defense operations. A ballistic missile threat was also issued for most of the country overnight with air raid alerts active in central and eastern regions.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a residential building in the Obolon district was partially destroyed between the third and fourth floors. Strikes on a nine-story residential building and five-story residential building were also reported in the Solomianskyi and Pechersk districts.

Kyiv City Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko said that a fire had also broken out at a three-story residential building in the Podil district of the city. Videos posted to social media show multiple car fires within the city.

A 25-story apartment building in the Shevchenkivskyi was also hit, according to Tkachenko.

The attack damaged transmission lines, causing widespread power outages in Kyiv. Klitschko said that at least 140,000 subscribers were without power across the city due to the attack.

Russia's attack was not limited to Kyiv. In Kharkiv, five emergency workers were killed and at least four victims injured in the overnight assault, according to regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

In Dnipro, at least one person was reported injured. The full extent of the damage and casualties from the mass strike is not yet known, as Russia's attacks against Ukraine are ongoing.

Ukrainian officials had warned of the renewed threat of large-scale strikes in the days leading up to the attack.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on June 12 that it was highly likely to use an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine on June 13, although the attack did not materialize. Its most recent use came on May 24, when it was launched at Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast.

The latest large-scale attack follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's ongoing rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine. Putin dismissed on June 5 President Volodymyr Zelensky's open letter calling for the immediate reopening of peace negotiations.