Missiles and drones lit up the skies over Ukraine overnight, killing 11 people and setting part of one of Kyiv’s most revered religious landmarks ablaze, as a separate Ukrainian strike left three dead in Tula, south of Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said two Russian drones had “deliberately” struck Kyiv’s monastery district, igniting a fire at the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex.
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“It has been confirmed that two Russian drones deliberately targeted the part of the city where the Lavra and the Mystetskyi Arsenal are located,” he said on social media, posting a video from his visit to the damaged site.
“This is one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.”
Emergency crews have now extinguished fires in Kyiv, including at the Lavra and the Mystetskyi Arsenal. I thank all services working at the strike sites, and everyone helping in the aftermath. It has been confirmed that two Russian drones deliberately targeted the area where the… pic.twitter.com/EwfUTXWAsj
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 15, 2026
The latest wave of strikes came as reports of a US-Iran deal appeared to open a possible route toward ending the war in the Middle East, underscoring how little movement there has been toward stopping more than four years of war in Ukraine.
In northeast Ukraine, five rescue workers were killed while battling fires after Russian strikes hit Kharkiv, and at least five other people were wounded, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said today.
Another four people were killed in the capital, where a fire broke out on the grounds of the UNESCO world heritage site Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and flames spread to the roof of the Dormition Cathedral.
AFP journalists in Kyiv saw residents sprinting for shelter as air defences fired overhead and burning debris rained down across the city.
Russia’s military said it had carried out a “massive strike” on Ukrainian military sites in the capital Kyiv, as well as Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.
The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine condemned the strike on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra as a “crime against humanity, history and Christianity”
‘Repeated Russian strikes’
More than a dozen fire engines ringed the cathedral as firefighters worked from inside the building and from elevated platforms to bring the flames under control.
One side of the church had been ripped open, and flames could be seen licking through the partially destroyed roof.
Several buildings in the monastery complex had already been damaged in Russian attacks in January, according to the Ministry of Culture at the time.
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the famed monastery crowned by golden domes, has been at the centre of controversy in recent years following the expulsion of monks accused of links to Moscow.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine formally severed ties with Russia in 2022, and two years later the Ukrainian government banned the Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church connected to Moscow.
At the institutional level, the Russian Orthodox Church has firmly backed President Vladimir Putin since he launched Russia’s offensive on Ukraine in 2022.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local military administration, denounced what he called a “direct strike” on the historic site.
Kyiv’s Metropolitan Epiphanius also described the attack as a “crime against humanity, history and Christianity.”
Officials said at least 23 people were injured in the capital, while 140,000 residents in northern districts were left without electricity.
Ukrainian air defences shot down incoming Russian missiles over Kyiv
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast, also came under heavy missile attack.
“Five State Emergency Service rescuers were killed during firefighting operations as a result of a repeated Russian strike,” Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on Telegram. At least nine people were also injured.
Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the military administration in the Dnipropetrovsk region, said the city of Dnipro was also targeted and that one person had been wounded.
Oleg Grygorov, head of the Sumy region, said three people were wounded in the northeastern district, including a child.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike killed three people and wounded three more in the city of Tula, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Moscow, regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said today.
The Kharkiv Art Museum was struck in a Russian drone attack
Peace talks
Mr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin both spoke yesterday with US President Donald Trump about the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader said on X that he had “discussed things that could help bring about peace now,” while his adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters he welcomed what he called a “quite substantive conversation about everything” between the two presidents.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said the call between Mr Putin and Mr Trump centred on peace negotiations involving the United States and Iran.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed.
As Russian drones and missiles continue to pound Ukrainian cities almost daily, Kyiv has in recent weeks intensified its own aerial campaign, saying it is largely targeting Russia’s oil infrastructure to cut revenues used to finance the war.
Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov told reporters that “US presidential special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are currently closely involved in Iranian affairs, will return to Russia soon”.
