KYIV, Ukraine — A sweeping Russian assault on Ukraine on Monday claimed the lives of five rescue workers in Kharkiv while injuring at least 20 people in the capital city of Kyiv, as missile and drone strikes set residential buildings on fire and caused major damage to one of the nation’s most revered religious landmarks.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the five rescuers in Kharkiv were killed when a second Russian strike hit while they were already battling a fire caused by an earlier attack. At least five additional emergency personnel were also wounded in the incident.
In Kyiv, a barrage of powerful explosions shook the city as ballistic missiles were followed by Shahed drones. Residents sought refuge underground as authorities urged everyone to take shelter immediately.
“Kyiv is under the main strike. There is significant destruction of civilian infrastructure,” Klymenko said.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that 20 people — including at least one child — sought medical attention in the capital following the attack.
Tkachenko said five strikes hit civilian locations in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district within a span of less than 30 minutes. Among the targets hit were a 25-story apartment building, a market, and a grocery store. A nine-story residential building in the Obolonskyi district also took a direct hit.
Tkachenko placed blame on Russia for intentionally targeting residential areas. “This is their deliberate decision,” he said.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a historic monastic complex, also suffered substantial damage, with a serious fire breaking out at the site. Tkachenko accused Russia of deliberately striking “the heart of one of the largest Christian shrines.”
Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, confirmed that the roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the overnight attack. He condemned the strike as a Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity” and called on people around the world to pray for the site’s preservation.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra — also called the Monastery of the Caves — is a vast complex of monasteries and churches, some of which are underground, constructed between the 11th and 19th centuries. The UNESCO-listed World Heritage site features a network of caves stretching more than 600 meters, or roughly 2,000 feet. Its cathedrals and churches sit along the right bank of the Dnipro River and have drawn pilgrims for hundreds of years.
