At around 1 a.m. on June 15, a Shahed drone struck the Stefan Chapel of the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyivan-Pechersk Lavra. The roof caught fire. Emergency services from the State Emergency Service extinguished the fire, but the scale of destruction was significant: according to Maksym Ostapenko, the general director of the reserve, at least five objects of national significance and several monuments of local significance were damaged.
The Cathedral That Faced Misfortune Twice
The Dormition Cathedral had a tragic fate even before this night. In 1941, it was destroyed by an explosion — to this day, it is not precisely known whose work it was. Reconstruction was completed in 2000, with interior decoration continuing for several more years. Restoration of the five-tiered Baroque iconostasis was completed only in 2024.
The Dormition Cathedral suffered the most damage. There is a great threat to the section below — that is, the paintings, frescoes, and iconostasis.
— Maksym Ostapenko, general director of the Kyivan-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, on the air of "Breakfast with 1+1"
In addition to the cathedral, a 17th-century defensive tower was damaged. Personnel and visitors were not in the dangerous area at the moment of impact — there are no casualties. However, Ostapenko identified the danger of partial collapse within the cathedral itself.
What Was Managed to Be Saved
After the strike, the Lavra's hegumen, Bishop Avraamy, announced an emergency evacuation of church reliquaries. Along with monks and police, the following were removed from the premises:
- an exhibition dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ;
- the shrine of Saint Stephen — one of the cathedral's main holy relics;
- icons, antimensions, and liturgical objects.
The iconostasis and frescoes cannot be evacuated — they are part of the building structure. The fate of the paintings depends on whether the construction can be stabilized before moisture and destruction reach the lower tiers.
The Lavra Within Legal Protection — And What It Means
As reminded by Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy Tetiana Berezhna, the Kyivan-Pechersk Lavra is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is under enhanced protection under the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954. An attack on such an object is classified as one of the most serious crimes against humanity's cultural heritage — regardless of whether the target was military.
This is already the second recorded attack on the reserve since the full-scale invasion began.
Currently, the territory of the Lavra is closed to visitors — emergency work and damage assessment are ongoing.
If rescuers manage to stabilize the cathedral's structure before moisture penetrates to the lower levels, the iconostasis and frescoes can be preserved. The question is how much time there is for this — and whether the reserve has the resources for emergency conservation of monuments under conditions of active hostilities.
