While much international focus has shifted to the struggle and possible deal between the United States and Iran, the prolonged conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued. The Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv was struck during an overnight airstrike that involved hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. At least 11 people have been killed so far and over 50 have been injured across the country, with 5 of those people being killed in Kyiv. The Cathedral is one of the oldest and most revered Orthodox Christian sites in Eastern Europe as part of the Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv. It is also a UNESCO-protected holy site.

Images of the cathedral showed the building on fire, with Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, saying the damage is substantial. “This is one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date,” said Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelenskyy said on social media. International officials were quick to condemn the action. “This attack tonight on the Monastery by the Russians in Kyiv makes no sense. It has a parallel with the bombing of London’s St. Paul’s in 1940 by the Germans. It won’t work,” tweeted Keith Kellogg, the former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine. “Perhaps Putin hit Lavra Pecherska because the Orthodox monastery in Kyiv was already famous while Moscow was still a forest,” wrote Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv. “I hope that this outrageos attack disabuses Christians the world over of the absurd idea that the old KGB colonel is a defender of the faith.”

“What more must the Kremlin Antichrist do for the world to realise that decisive action must be taken to end Russian terror against Ukraine?” wrote Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.  EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called the attack a war crime. The Kremlin, however, denied striking the complex. “According to confirmed reports, the complex ‌of buildings at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was ​struck by a missile from ‌the American Patriot air ⁠defense system,” said the the Russian defense ministry. “One possible reason for ⁠the malfunction of this system could be that Western ‌countries supplied the ​Kyiv regime with missiles ‌that had expired.” A Russian frigate also fired warning shots to divert a UK-flagged civilian yacht in the Channel. “That shouldn’t have happened. It is reckless, and the couple on the yacht must’ve been terrified,” said Sir Keir Starmer.