Ukraine condemns ‘brutal’ Russian assault after Unesco heritage Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is hit

A large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine killed five rescuers in Kharkiv and wounded at least 20 people in the capital Kyiv on Monday as strikes set flat buildings ablaze and sparked a fire at one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks.

The rescuers were killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike as they fought a blaze caused by an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. At least five other emergency workers were wounded.

A series of powerful explosions echoed across Kyiv, with a wave of ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter underground and officials urged residents to take cover.

“Kyiv is under the main strike. There is significant destruction of civilian infrastructure,” Klymenko said.

Twenty people, including a child, sought medical help in the capital, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Five strikes hit civilian sites in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district in less than 30 minutes, he said, including a 25-storey flat building, while a market and a grocery store caught fire. In the Obolonskyi district, a nine-storey residential building took a direct hit.