UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra buildings damaged in Russian attack
Several facilities of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery national reserve, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, were damaged as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine overnight into Monday, according to Interfax-Ukraine and Detector Media.
In particular, buildings No. 66 (entrance to the Far Caves complex) and No. 67 (Annunciation Church) sustained damage.
“For the first time since World War II, a Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra facility has been hit by hostilities. Moscow is always behind this — as it was in 1918; as it was when, on orders from Moscow, the Dormition Cathedral was blown up in 1941; and now, on orders from Moscow, Shahed [drones] and missiles fly at Kyiv and, in particular, cause damage now to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra as well,” said Lavra director general Maksym Ostapenko.
According to him, the blast wave shattered part of the windows and doors, and plaster fragments were damaged in numerous places. The caves themselves were not affected.
Ostapenko stressed that this is the first time the Lavra has sustained direct damage from an aerial target explosion. Previously, only shrapnel damage or remnants of downed objects were observed.
During the attack, a seismic sensor failed to operate due to a power outage, making it impossible to determine the explosion’s impact on the reserve’s facilities.