The Monastery of the Caves, a Unesco World Heritage Site, was hit by Russian drones during a large-scale attack on Kyiv on Monday. The roof of the Dormition Cathedral, which dates back to 1073 and was rebuilt in the 1990s following its destruction by the German occupiers in 1941, was set ablaze.
Kremlin wants to dominate the Orthodox Church
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Why did Russia attack a monastery that is considered a major hub of Orthodox Christianity, asks journalist Mihai Isac in the Cotidianul blog (Romania):
“Because Ukrainian or Romanian Orthodoxy is not merely a religious reality but an act of national freedom. A Ukrainian church that prays in its own language, venerates its martyrs and does not ask Moscow for permission contradicts the myth of the [neo-imperialist ideology] ‘Russian world’. That is why the Kremlin is not content merely to occupy territories. It wants to occupy meanings and decide who is allowed to be a Christian, who is Orthodox, and who must remain a vassal beneath the domes of the empire.”
This is how Moscow defends traditional values
The images from Kyiv are a PR disaster for Putin, comments political scientist Abbas Gallyamov on Facebook (Russia):
“By attacking the cave monastery, Putin has put at risk his carefully cultivated image as a defender of Christianity and champion of ‘traditional values’. It will now be much harder for [far-right digital influencer] Tucker Carlson and other Putin sympathisers in the West to whitewash his image. They will have to go on air against the backdrop of a burning cathedral. ... And above all: what was the point?! What exactly did he hope to achieve with this move? That the war against him, which had so far been a patriotic struggle for the Ukrainians, now also takes on a sacred character? Well, congratulations, he has certainly succeeded on that score.”
World Leaders Accuse Russia of ‘Barbarity’ After Strike Damages Kyiv’s Ancient Pechersk Lavra
An expression of Russian frustration
Krytyka Polityczna sees the attack as a symptom of a growing sense of helplessness among the Moscow leadership (Poland):
“The frustrated Kremlin believes it can intimidate the Ukrainians by attacking places of high symbolic significance, but instead this is only strengthening their unity. It’s difficult enough to demoralise a population that has survived severe frosts without electricity or heating. This is at best an expression of helplessness, because the Russians simply don’t know what to do. The war is dragging on without any prospect of victory, Kyiv refuses to hand over Donbas voluntarily, and Ukrainian drones are successfully attacking Russian supply lines.”
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