Russian strikes hit monastery; Ukraine says air-defense intercept caused damage

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Russia bombards Kyiv with drones and missiles, sets fire to historic cathedral Several people were killed in Kyiv by the overnight Russian strikes. Russia bombards Kyiv with drones and missiles, sets fire to historic cathedral Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images By David Brennan June 15, 2026, 4:07 AM LONDON -- Russian drones and missiles targeted Kyiv in a major attack on Sunday night, Ukrainian officials said on Monday morning, killing several people in the capital and setting a fire at a historic cathedral and UNESCO world heritage site.

At least five people were killed and 28 people injured by the strikes on Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in posts to social media. Zelenskyy said that Russia launched more than 60 missiles at the capital.

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century cathedral located in the heart of the city, was among the sites damaged in the attack, Zelenskyy wrote. The roof of the church was set on fire by strikes, he reported, though said that emergency responders extinguished the blaze.

"This is one of the biggest Russian crimes against Christian culture to date," the Ukrainian leader added. Smoke and fire rise from the Dormition Cathedral in the Orthodox complex of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on June 15, 2026.

Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images Related Ukraine scales up drone attacks in Moscow, across Russia to record highs, data shows Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack as "barbaric" in a post to X. " In total, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones into Ukraine overnight, of which 50 missiles and 582 drones were shot down or otherwise suppressed.

Twenty ballistic missiles and 27 drones impacted across 42 locations, the air force said in a post to Telegram. Sunday night's attack was the largest combined Russian strike recorded since the night of June 1, according to Ukrainian air force data analyzed by ABC News.

Zelenskyy said that at least five more people were killed and nine people injured by Russian strikes In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, while other attacks were also reported in the Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions. Smoke and fire rises from the Dormition Cathedral in the Orthodox complex of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on June 15, 2026, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images Related Ukrainian drones target Moscow again, mayor says, as Kyiv claims oil refinery strike "Russia is showing the world its intentions to continue the war," Zelenskyy wrote. " Russia's Defense Ministry described the overnight attacks as "a massive strike with high-precision weapons" in a post to Telegram.

The ministry claimed that its targets included "objects of the defense-industrial complex" and military facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro. Trump says US and Iran have reached a deal, opening the Strait of Hormuz Jun 14, 2:51 PM Missing woman found alive after being stuck in mud puddle for days Jun 12, 4:05 PM Israel conducts strikes in Iran, IDF says Jun 7, 9:43 PM The ministry denied responsibility for the strike on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, claiming -- without providing evidence -- that the cathedral was hit by an interceptor missile fired by a Ukrainian-operated U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system.

The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed the shooting down of at least 123 long-range Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday morning. Smoke raises above Kyiv, Ukraine, following a Russian attack on June 15, 2026. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky Related Ukraine outshoots Russia in cross-border drone war for 1st time, March data suggests Russia's federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said in posts to Telegram that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at airports in Sochi, Volgograd, Kaluga, Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod overnight.

Flight restrictions were also introduced at three of Moscow's four international airports -- Domodedovo, Ivanovo and Zhukovsky -- amid the latest attacks, Rosaviatsiya said. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in a post to Telegram that four Ukrainian drones were shot down en route to the capital in the early hours of Monday, marking the eighth consecutive day of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow.

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WORLD Nine killed, historic monastery on fire as Ukraine faces major Russian attacks Smoke and fire rise from the Dormition Cathedral in the Orthodox complex of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following a Russian missile strike on Kyiv on Monday. | AFP-JIJI By Jekaterina Golubkova REUTERS SHARE/SAVE X Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Threads Email Print Bookmark story Copy link Jun 15, 2026 Four people were killed while the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a symbol of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural history, caught fire, in the heaviest Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital in two weeks, authorities said on Monday, urging ​residents to take shelter.

The fresh strikes came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday he had spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump and discussed efforts ‌to achieve ‌an end to the more than four-year conflict, ahead of a G7 meeting in France this week.

The central Kyiv Pechersk ​Lavra monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1051, was seriously damaged in a direct attack, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the capital’s military administration, said in a Telegram post. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

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