Kyiv cathedral burns as heavy Russian air raids hit Ukraine

play Live Sign upShow navigation menu.css-15ru6p1{font-size:inherit;font-weight:normal;}Navigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionWorld CupVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomySportHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftRussia-Ukraine warWhat’s the Sarmat missile?Putin meets XiStarving on the front linesFour years later: War in Ukrainecaret-rightIn Pictures Flames engulf Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s Dormition Cathedral, a UNESCO site, following Russia’s intensified military assault. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoRescue workers battle flames at the Dormition Cathedral in the 1,000-year-old Monastery of the Caves, also known as the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]By AFP, AP and ReutersPublished On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026Russia has unleashed one of its heaviest air raids on Ukraine in weeks, killing rescuers in the northeast and setting a historic cathedral ablaze in Kyiv, even as diplomatic moves elsewhere raised faint hopes of wider de-escalation. Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight, most of them at the capital, and that air defences shot down 50 missiles and 582 drones. Officials said at least four people were killed and about 30 injured in Kyiv, including children, as missiles and drone debris hit apartment blocks, markets and power lines, plunging some 140,000 residents into darkness. The Dormition Cathedral in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site, caught fire after what local authorities said was a direct hit. Flames tore through the roof of the landmark overlooking the Dnipro River, with Metropolitan Epiphanius of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine calling the strike “a crime against humanity, history and Christianity”. In Kharkiv, officials said Russia used a “double tap” tactic, launching further strikes on the site of an earlier attack and killing four emergency service workers and a municipal official. Additional attacks were reported in Dnipro and the Sumy region. Moscow’s Ministry of Defence said its forces used long-range precision weapons and drones to hit military-industrial facilities, conscription offices and airbases, insisting their goals had been achieved. Ukraine has stepped up its own long-range attacks, saying a drone attack killed three people in the Russian city of Tula and that bridges to occupied Crimea were hit in a bid to cut supply lines. The latest escalation came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with United States President Donald Trump, and Washington and Tehran announced a framework to end their war – underscoring how efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine remain stalled more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Show moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: