Russian attacks in Ukraine kill nine, damage historic Kyiv cathedral
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- Russian forces launched an overnight missile and drone barrage that killed at least nine people across Ukraine and knocked out electricity to 140,000 households, deploying dozens of Shahed kamikaze drones and at least 15 high-speed ballistic missiles toward Kyiv alone.
- A kamikaze drone made a direct hit on the roof of the 11th-century Dormition Cathedral at the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, igniting roughly 800 square meters of flames; monks and rescue workers formed human chains to evacuate icons and priceless liturgical relics.
- The Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studios was heavily damaged in the same barrage, with Ukraine's Ministry of Culture reporting that its primary costume repository was destroyed and an irreplaceable collection of roughly 100,000 garments was incinerated.
- A 'double-tap' strike in Kharkiv killed five State Emergency Service rescuers when a second drone hit first responders extinguishing a fire from an initial missile strike, with at least five additional rescuers injured in the second blast, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
- Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported about 20 people wounded in Kyiv, including a child and a pregnant woman, as residential high-rises took direct hits in the Obolonskyi, Solomianskyi, and Pecherskyi districts.
- Metropolitan Epiphaniy I of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine condemned the cathedral attack on X as 'a crime against humanity, against history, and against Christianity,' while First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the destruction exposed 'the true face of Russia's Orthodox values.'
- Zelenskyy and Putin each spoke separately by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday; Zelenskyy said the call covered steps that could help achieve peace, while the Kremlin said Putin and Trump discussed 'peace negotiations involving the US and Iran.'
Why it matters: The strike came hours after Trump held separate Sunday calls with both Zelenskyy and Putin, with the Kremlin framing its discussion around 'peace negotiations.' The 'double-tap' killing of five Kharkiv rescuers and the incineration of an irreplaceable 100,000-garment film archive show Russian attacks on cultural sites and emergency workers continuing at scale despite the diplomatic track.
