Russian strikes kill five rescuers in Kharkiv and damage Kyiv religious site
A coordinated Russian attack on Ukraine killed five emergency workers in Kharkiv, injured at least 20 people in Kyiv and caused a fire at the historic Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
A series of Russian missile and drone strikes hit Ukraine on Monday, killing five rescuers in Kharkiv and wounding at least 20 people in the capital, Kyiv. The Kharkiv casualties occurred during a second strike that hit firefighters battling a blaze from an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Five other emergency workers were also injured.
In Kyiv, explosions were heard across the city as ballistic missiles were followed by Shahed drones. Officials urged residents to take shelter underground. Klymenko said the capital was under a major strike that caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that five strikes struck civilian sites in the Shevchenkivskyi district within 30 minutes, hitting a 25-story apartment block, a market and a grocery store, while a nine-story residential building in the Obolonskyi district was directly hit. He said a child was among the twenty people who sought medical care.
Damage was also reported at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO-listed monastic complex. The roof of the Dormition Cathedral caught fire. Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, condemned the attack and called for prayers for the site.
The Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a historic religious complex dating from the 11th to the 19th century and a major pilgrimage destination.
