President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains to discuss new British support measures for Ukraine and the fallout from Russia’s Sunday strike on Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
According to Zelensky’s official statement on Telegram, London agreed on “new important decisions” backing Ukraine, including additional sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet – the network Moscow uses to move sanctioned oil and fund its war effort.
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“All of this helps move us toward peace,” Zelensky said, framing economic pressure as a key lever in ending the Russian invasion, now in its fourth year.
A central topic was the damage to Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine’s most prominent Orthodox monastery and a UNESCO World Heritage site, struck overnight on Sunday, June 14, in a Russian attack.
“We discussed the possible involvement of the United Kingdom in the restoration of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky has raised the damage to the Lavra with other G7 leaders as emblematic of Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s cultural and religious heritage.
The two leaders also reviewed implementation of agreements reached in the G7-Ukraine format, focusing on new areas of pressure on Russia and practical steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.
Zelensky stressed that as long as Moscow shows intent to continue the war, Kyiv and its partners must both tighten sanctions and reinforce Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory.
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He concluded by thanking the United Kingdom for its “unwavering support” of the Ukrainian people.
“Strike on Kyiv Lavra is like bombing Notre-Dame,” French FM says
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot compared Russia’s strike on the Lavra to bombing Notre-Dame or Saint-Denis on Monday, calling the Russian war a colonial war against Ukraine.
“Russia showed the extent of its cruelty by massively striking the capital, Kyiv, causing extremely severe damage to the Dormition Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which for us, the French, is the equivalent of bombing Notre-Dame or Saint-Denis,” Barrot explained.
He argued that the rising civilian death toll from such attacks show that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is a direct obstacle to peace – a claim Russia disputes, with Moscow denying responsibility for the Lavra strike.
Ukraine’s Security Service said fragments of a Russian Geran-2 kamikaze drone were found at the site. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strikes deliberate attacks on humanity’s shared cultural heritage and urged the use of international accountability mechanisms.
Other world leaders echoed the condemnation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the strikes showed once again that Russia’s only objective was “violence and destruction.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the damage to the centuries-old monastery a “war crime” and demanded accountability for those responsible.
In response to the strikes, G7 leaders adopted additional sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex and shadow fleet.
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