As a result of the Russian massive attack on Kyiv, 19 objects of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra National Reserve were damaged. The scale of the destruction and the progress of emergency and rescue operations were described by participants in a briefing held at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy of Ukraine – Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetyana Berezhna, Director General of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” Maksym Ostapenko, Director General of the National Cultural, Art and Museum Complex “Mystetskyi Arsenal” Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta, and Director General of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio Andriy Donchyk.
“The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio, museums, archives, art institutions – this is an attempt to strike at what forms the Ukrainian nation. We are working on assessing the damage and attracting resources to restore the damaged objects,” emphasized Tetyana Berezhna.
According to Maksym Ostapenko, the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra suffered the most. After a Russian drone hit the Stefaniv chapel, a large-scale fire broke out, damaging more than 80% of the roof of the temple.
“More than 80% of the roof of the Assumption Cathedral was damaged, but most importantly, we managed to prevent the fire from penetrating inside. The greatest threat was to the 25-meter iconostasis, the largest in Ukraine. If the fire had reached it, the consequences could have been catastrophic,” said Maxim Ostapenko, Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve .
According to preliminary estimates, damage was caused to UNESCO World Heritage sites, monuments of national importance, museums, cultural institutions, and art education institutions.
Among them are the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the Ivan Kushnyk Tower of the 17th–18th centuries, the Treasury of the National Museum of History of Ukraine, the Museum of Books and Printing of Ukraine, the National Historical Library of Ukraine, and other objects on the territory of the National Reserve.
“A total of 19 objects were damaged. UNESCO objects were damaged by the explosion, there is damage of varying degrees, but we are recording everything. Of course, the Assumption Cathedral suffered the most, but we are a complex object and we have to look at the entire complex of monuments from the 12th to the 19th centuries,” Maksym Ostapenko concluded.
According to preliminary estimates, the damage from the Russian attack already exceeds UAH 500 million. At the same time, the assessment of the damage is ongoing, so the final amount may increase after a detailed survey of all facilities is completed.
Special attention during the briefing was paid to the international aspect of cultural heritage protection. Recall that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is under enhanced international protection in accordance with the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention.
Representatives of UNESCO and other international organizations have already recorded the consequences of the Russian attack. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture stressed the need for a more decisive international response to crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage, continued practical assistance in restoring damaged monuments, and holding the aggressor state accountable.
The participants of the briefing emphasized that the attack on cultural heritage is not an accidental consequence of the war, but part of Russia’s systemic policy aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity, historical memory, and cultural values.
In the first hours after the attack, reserve workers, rescuers, law enforcement officers, and clergy evacuated cultural values and relics that could have been threatened by fire or further destruction. In particular, they managed to save an exhibition dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, ancient icons, liturgical objects, and the 18th-century St. Stephen’s Rak, one of the main shrines of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
Maksym Ostapenko added that all museum objects and exhibits that were at risk of damage were evacuated within the first hour after the impact.
The Director General of the National Reserve thanked the units of the State Emergency Service that worked on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra during the repeated air threats. According to him, more than 20 rescue crews were involved in eliminating the consequences of the attack, and they did not stop working even after the second drone strike, which damaged the Ivan Kushnyk tower.
Currently, experts continue to inspect the damaged objects, record the destruction and estimate the scope of future restoration work. According to Maksym Ostapenko, the Assumption Cathedral is subject to restoration, as has happened repeatedly throughout its almost thousand-year history.
