Russian missiles kill 11 in Ukraine, damage religious history, officials say – National
Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at major Ukrainian cities in a massacre that killed at least 11 people and burned a world-famous religious monument, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials said Monday.
The attack on the capital Kyiv, with second-largest city Kharkiv, came after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with US President Donald Trump on Sunday. This exchange suggests that Washington has not given up on its efforts to stop the war that followed Moscow’s attack on its neighbor in February 2022.
The war in Ukraine will also feature in Tuesday’s talks by G7 leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy and Trump are expected to attend, with the Ukrainian leader stressing his country’s plight while the war in Iran distracts international attention.
“This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,” Zelenskyy said in the X-post, referring to nighttime attacks on civilian areas including the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery.
“It is very important that there is a response from the G7 countries … and that this response is decisive and strong; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities,” he said.
Children among the injured Kyiv
Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency workers and injured 53 across Ukraine.
Five died in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, while at least 30 others were injured, including two children aged 5 and 6, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s Military Administration.
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A series of loud explosions were heard across Kyiv, with a wave of missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter underground. Clouds of black smoke hung over the city.
Five strikes hit residents in the Shevchenkivskyi district in less than 30 minutes, Tkachenko said, including a 25-story building, when a market and a store burned down. In Obolonskyi district, a nine-story residential building was directly affected.
Firefighters use an aerial platform to put out a fire at the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Cultural, Art and Museum Complex, caused by a massive Russian-led coalition attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 15, 2026.
Marianna Kotyk/Ukrinform via ZUMA Press Wire
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted defense and industrial facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro, including businesses and workshops that produce components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said a workshop producing medium- and long-range drones at the site of the Dovzhenko film studio in Kyiv was among the targets.
Russia also said it hit the Kyiv-based Radar facility, which it said made drone parts, and the Mayak plant, which it said made Ukraine’s Flamingo long-range missiles. Military recruitment offices in Kyiv were also hit.
There is no further information about the 11th person killed in the attack.
A religious site was damaged in the attack
In Kyiv, smoke billowed near the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a revered religious landmark.
Its roof collapsed during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, and against Christianity,” and called for prayers to save the area.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a complex full of monasteries and churches, including an underground one, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches in the UNESCO World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves covering more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).
A firefighter works on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra that caught fire during the massive Russian offensive, in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 15, 2026.
Marianna Kotyk/Ukrinform via ZUMA Press Wire
Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian planes and called the attack on Moscow “the biggest crime against Christian culture.” He visited the scene with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and other government officials.
The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the Dnieper River and have been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was “similar, for us French, to the Notre Dame bombing” in Paris.
The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the Dnieper River and have been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was “similar, for us French, to the Notre Dame bombing” in Paris.
The Ukrainian National Commission for UNESCO, which oversees the country’s cooperation with the UN educational, scientific and cultural organization, has urged the international community to increase pressure on Moscow to stop its attacks and expel it from the organization.
“By destroying the cultural heritage of Ukraine, (Russia) seeks to erase the memory of history and harm the heritage of all mankind,” the commission said in a statement.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia said, without providing evidence, that the complex was hit by one of the Ukrainian missiles made by the Patriot air defense, saying that it may have deviated due to its age.
Russia has shot down more than 600 drones in Ukraine
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 70 missiles and 611 aircraft overnight, mostly targeting Kyiv, and also attacked the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv.
The military said the air defense intercepted or electronically suppressed 632 aerial targets, including 50 missiles and 582 drones.
Initial data showed 20 ballistic missiles and 27 drones attacking 42 locations across the country, while debris from intercepted drones fell in 12 locations.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that air forces shot down 123 Ukrainian planes overnight.
