Russian attack causes first wartime damage at Kyiv's Caves Monastery since WWII

Buildings at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (the Monastery of the Caves), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged during a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital on the night of 23-24 January.

Source: Maksym Ostapenko, Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "A building belonging to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra has been struck as a result of military action for the first time since World War II. On each occasion Moscow was behind it – in 1918; then when the Dormition Cathedral was blown up in 1941 on orders from Moscow; and now, again on orders from Moscow, Shahed drones and missiles are flying across Kyiv and causing damage, including to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra."

Details: Damage was recorded to Building No. 66 – the entrance to the Far Caves complex – and Building No. 67, the Church of the Conception of St Anne.

Ostapenko said some windows and doors were shattered by the blast wave and parts of the plasterwork were damaged in multiple places.

He said the caves themselves were not affected, however.

He added that this is the first time the Lavra has suffered direct damage from an aerial explosion. Previously it had only been damaged by shrapnel or debris from downed assets.

Ostapenko also said that a seismic sensor had failed to activate due to power outages, making it impossible to determine the full impact of the blast on the site.

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