Russian strike hits historic Kyiv cathedral
The Pechersk Lavra, one of the most important historical and religious sites in Ukraine, was hit in Moscow's latest barrage of drone and missile attacks on Kyiv overnight June 14-15, in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called "one of Russia's most serious crimes against Christian culture to date." Images circulating on social media show flames rising above the UNESCO World Heritage site, which contains structures dating from between the 11th and 18th centuries, including the gold-domed Dormition Cathedral. The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius, confirmed that the roof of the cathedral caught fire in the attack, calling the strike another Russian crime "against humanity, against history, against Christianity." Some 42,000 Kyiv residents spent the night in the capital's metro stations to escape the aerial assault on the city. (EuroNews)
Ukraine's religious sites have been repeatedly targeted by Russia over the course of the war.
US stalls on Patriot missiles for Ukraine
At least 17 people were killed in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Aug. 5. Ukraine is running low on missile interceptors amid a shortage of the US-supplied munitions due to the Iran war.
Political signals from Washington have shifted. At a NATO summit last month, Donald Trump said the US would give Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot missiles. About three weeks later, he said he had not made a final decision. Even with a licence, officials and experts estimate that starting production in Ukraine would take years.
Russia is meanwhile stepping up its air attacks on Kyiv, launching a barrage on average every three days in recent weeks. Ukraine is also carrying out attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure to try to undermine the country's war economy. (TNH, TG)
Russian cluster munition attack on Kyiv potential war crime
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Aug. 13 warned that Russia's latest attack on Kyiv, which utilized cluster munitions in a crowded residential area, may constitute a war crime under international law, citing the weapon’s indiscriminate nature.
Commenting on the Aug. 5 attack, HRW assistant Ukraine researcher Kseniya Kvitka stated:
HRW reported that Russia may have used cluster munitions in its attack on Kyiv which killed three civilians, and formed part of a wider strike on Kyiv which totaled 17 civilian causalities, and dozens injured. (Jurist)