Russia launched a heavy missile barrage against several major Ukrainian cities overnight into Monday, killing at least nine people and setting fire to the historic Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The assault, which also struck Kharkiv and Dnipro, came as news of a US-Iran deal raised hopes for peace in the Middle East, highlighting the stark contrast with the stalled efforts to end more than four years of full-scale war in Ukraine.
Deadly Strikes on Rescuers and Cultural Heritage
In Kharkiv, five rescue workers from the State Emergency Service were killed during firefighting operations after a second Russian strike hit the area, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Telegram. At least nine others were wounded in the northeastern city. The attacks also killed four people in the capital, where flames engulfed the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, a landmark of Eastern Orthodox Christianity dating back to the 11th century.
Journalists on the ground in Kyiv described residents running through the streets seeking shelter as air defence systems intercepted projectiles, sending glowing debris across the city. More than a dozen fire trucks surrounded the cathedral, with firefighters working from aerial platforms and inside the building to extinguish the blaze. A gaping hole was visible on one side of the church, and part of the roof was destroyed.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex had already been damaged by Russian attacks in January, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Culture. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local military administration, condemned what he called a "direct strike" on the site. Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv denounced the attack as a "crime against humanity, history and Christianity."
At least 23 people were reported injured in the capital, and 140,000 residents in northern districts lost electricity. In Dnipro, one person was wounded, while in the Sumy region, three people—including a child—were injured, said regional head Oleh Hryhorov.
Diplomatic Contrasts and Escalating Strikes
The wave of attacks unfolded as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin both held separate phone calls with US President Donald Trump on Sunday. Zelenskyy said on X that he had "discussed things that could help bring about peace now," while his adviser Dmytro Lytvyn described the conversation as "quite substantive." The Kremlin said Putin and Trump focused on peace negotiations involving the United States and Iran.
Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov told the press that US presidential special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are closely involved in Iranian affairs, would return to Russia soon. The diplomatic moves come as Russia's full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year, has become Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, with tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed.
Ukraine has stepped up its own aerial attacks in recent weeks, targeting Russian oil infrastructure to reduce Moscow's war profits. A Ukrainian drone strike killed three people and wounded three others in the Russian city of Tula, about 200 kilometres south of Moscow, regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Monday.
The ongoing violence underscores the fragility of any potential peace process. While the US-Iran deal opens a path to de-escalation in the Middle East, no comparable breakthrough has emerged for Ukraine. The G7 summit in Évian recently saw leaders discuss Ukraine, but concrete progress remains elusive. Meanwhile, EU accession talks with Ukraine continue, though the war's toll on civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage deepens daily.
The attack on the Dormition Cathedral, a symbol of Ukrainian identity and resilience, has drawn widespread condemnation. As firefighters sifted through the debris, the golden cupola of one of the complex's churches lay on the ground, a stark reminder of the conflict's relentless destruction.
