The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Russia struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra using a Geran-2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Russian version of the Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drone.
The conclusion was based on an analysis of drone wreckage recovered at the impact site on Monday, according to an SBU report published on Telegram.
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Dating back to the 11th century, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the cave monastery, is considered one of Ukraine’s holiest religious sites.
According to the investigation, Moscow targeted the monastery complex at 1:50 a.m. on Monday, during a massive overnight attack on Kyiv.
“During the inspection of the scene, SBU officers found fragments of the hull and engine of the Russian suicide drone, which struck the Stefanovsky Chapel of the Assumption Cathedral on the territory of the Lavra,” the report says.
The SBU added that an examination of the wreckage showed some drone components were manufactured in Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, as indicated by markings found on the fragments.
“As a result of the enemy attack, the roofs, domes, walls, and glazing of the cathedral were damaged. The blast wave also damaged neighboring civilian infrastructure in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district,” the report says.
Investigators have classified the strike as a war crime and opened criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
World Leaders Accuse Russia of ‘Barbarity’ After Strike Damages Kyiv’s Ancient Pechersk Lavra
Authorities are also working to establish all the circumstances of the attack and identify those responsible.
Russia’s response
In a statement following the attack, the Russian defense ministry claimed that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex was hit not by Russian weapons, but by a US-supplied Patriot air defense missile that allegedly malfunctioned during the strike.
“One of the reasons for the system’s malfunction could have been that Western countries supplied the Kyiv regime with expired missiles,” the ministry said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the site on Monday following the attack and said two drones targeted the historic complex.
“It has been confirmed that two Russian drones targeted the part of the city where the Lavra and Mystetskyi Arsenal are located. As of now, 35 people are known to have been injured in Kyiv,” Zelensky wrote.
“In total, 53 people have been injured across the country and 11 are known to have been killed in this massive Russian strike. My condolences to all their families and loved ones,” he added.
Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna said the strike “is about heritage that belongs to all humanity.”
“When the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra comes under attack, this is not only about Ukraine. It is about heritage that belongs to all humanity,” she wrote, adding that such damage is a crime against global cultural heritage.
The attack also hit Mystetskyi Arsenal, where a fire broke out, and the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio, where flames destroyed Ukraine’s largest and oldest costume collection.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strikes deliberate attacks on shared cultural heritage and urged international accountability, including through UNESCO.
The cultural damage came during one of Russia’s largest air assaults on Kyiv, involving 681 aerial weapons.
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