Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reports damage from Russian attack

This was announced by the reserve's Director General, Maksym Ostapenko, during a briefing, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

"During the last massive shelling, the area leading to the distant caves, which are monuments of national importance, was damaged. These are some of the oldest and most sacred parts of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. And during the last explosion, probably caused by a Shahed drone, part of the fittings were destroyed, damage was done, and cracks appeared in the structural elements of the gallery," Ostapenko said.

He noted that the last destruction of the Lavra's territory due to military actions occurred during World War II.

The Russian attack damaged building No. 66 (the entrance to the Far Caves complex) and building No. 67 (St. Anna's Conception Church), with partial damage to the facade elements recorded.

Preliminary results of a visual inspection revealed damage to doors and window frames; crumbling and cracking of the exterior plaster; and mechanical damage to door and window fittings.

In particular, an in-depth technical inspection of the structures will be carried out on January 26. After completing the documentation, the reserve's specialists will begin repairs to the damage and conservation of the affected objects.

Deputy Minister of Culture Ivan Verbytskyi noted that since the start of the full-scale invasion, 1,640 cultural heritage sites have been destroyed.

“The Russian war is a threat to Ukrainian cultural heritage, including world heritage in Ukraine. That is why Ukraine calls on the member states of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage to help protect these world monuments in Ukraine,” he said.

As reported, the Russian attack on the night of January 24 damaged residential buildings, vehicles, a library, a shopping center, garage cooperatives, the fence of the ground section of the green metro line, and the production premises of a confectionery enterprise. A woman was killed at a confectionery factory in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that the night shelling of Ukraine by the Russian army once again proves that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin belongs in the dock of a special tribunal, not at the board of peace.