{"id":32186,"date":"2026-06-17T14:04:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=32186"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:04:05","slug":"putin-branded-the-anti-christ-after-strike-damages-historic-christian-cathedral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/06\/putin-branded-the-anti-christ-after-strike-damages-historic-christian-cathedral","title":{"rendered":"“Putin Branded the \u2018Anti-Christ\u2019 After Strike Damages Historic Christian Cathedral"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FotoField \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u00a0Kyiv 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.<\/p>\n

Images of the cathedral<\/a> showed the building on fire, with Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, saying the damage is substantial. \u201cThis is one of Russia\u2019s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date,\u201d said Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelenskyy said on social media. International officials were quick to condemn the action. \u201cThis attack tonight on the Monastery by the Russians in Kyiv makes no sense. It has a parallel with the bombing of London\u2019s St. Paul\u2019s in 1940 by the Germans. It won\u2019t work,\u201d\u00a0tweeted Keith Kellogg<\/a>, the former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine. \u201cPerhaps Putin hit Lavra Pecherska because the Orthodox monastery in Kyiv was already famous while Moscow was still a forest,\u201d wrote Vitali Klitschko<\/a>, mayor of Kyiv. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat more must the Kremlin Antichrist do for the world to realise that decisive action must be taken to end Russian terror against Ukraine?\u201d wrote Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. \u00a0EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called the attack a war crime. The Kremlin, however, denied striking the complex. \u201cAccording to confirmed reports, the complex \u200cof buildings at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was \u200bstruck by a missile from \u200cthe American Patriot air \u2060defense system,\u201d said the the Russian defense ministry. \u201cOne possible reason for \u2060the malfunction of this system could be that Western \u200ccountries supplied the \u200bKyiv regime with missiles \u200cthat had expired.\u201d A Russian frigate also fired warning shots to divert a UK-flagged civilian yacht in the Channel. \u201cThat shouldn’t have happened. It is reckless, and the couple on the yacht must’ve been terrified,\u201d said Sir Keir Starmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0Kyiv was struck during an overnight airstrike that involved hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. At least 11 people have been killed so far…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":32189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"Putin Branded the \u2018Anti-Christ\u2019 After Strike Damages Historic Christian Cathedral<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Russian airstrike damaged Kyiv\u2019s historic Dormition Cathedral, drawing outrage as leaders condemn the attack on a sacred site.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/06\/putin-branded-the-anti-christ-after-strike-damages-historic-christian-cathedral\" 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