Russian missile and drone strikes kill nine across Ukraine, hit Kyiv monastery

Ukraine came under a large Russian missile and drone attack early Monday, with explosions heard across Kyiv and air raids killing at least nine people nationwide.

Strikes hit the Dormition Cathedral inside the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and residential buildings in the capital. Footage showed flames rising toward the cathedral domes. Six people were injured at the site.

Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, wrote on X that the roof of one of the holiest places in the Christian world was burning.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted an image of the burning monastery and said the attack was a brutal assault on Ukraine’s people and heritage. She called it another Russian crime against humanity, history and Christianity, and asked for prayers for the shrine.

Damage was reported at 16 locations in Kyiv. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said new launches targeting the capital continued and urged residents to stay in shelters.

Tkachenko said four people were killed and 23 injured in Kyiv. In Kharkiv, at least five people were killed in what appeared to be a double-tap strike on emergency responders.

The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow would carry out systemic strikes on Ukraine. They also came after a period of relative quiet in Kyiv while Russia prepared its forces.

Poland scrambled fighter jets and activated air defense systems and radar after the strikes, the Polish armed forces said.

The strikes came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken with Donald Trump ahead of a G7 meeting in France and discussed efforts to end the more than four-year war. Trump also told Putin that ending the conflict was vital and that he was ready to help, the Kremlin said.

Progress toward a peace agreement has been slow, with U.S. officials focusing on the Middle East. U.S. and Iranian officials said Sunday they had agreed on a peace framework to end their war, with the pact expected to be signed Friday in Switzerland.