Russia’s extensive drone attack on Kyiv on Saturday damaged the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. Source: OSV News.
Russia launched about 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones at Ukraine‘s capital as Ukrainians marked Holodomor Remembrance Day, which commemorates the seven million to 10 million victims of an artificial famine created by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin from 1932-1933 against Ukrainians.
No fatalities were reported, but five individuals were injured.
The assault was Russia’s largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine’s forces said 74 of the drones had been successfully eliminated. Kyiv remained under an air raid alert lasting more than six hours.
One Shahed drone was shot down in the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv, beside the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and the residence of Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
The debris damaged doors and shattered windows within the cathedral. A nearby multi-storey building sustained even greater damage, according to the UCGG information department.
The UGCC reported that “six windows in the basement of the Patriarchal Cathedral were damaged,” as “the blast wave shattered the glass panes”.
“The hardware on four cathedral doors was damaged, and door locks were torn off,” said Vasyl Bukatyuk, director of the construction directorate at the UGCC patriarchate.
Mr Bukatyuk said that Major Archbishop Shevchuk’s residence also suffered damage.
“The hardware on three doors was affected at both the patriarchal residence and the Patriarchal curia,” he said.
Slight damage to the cathedral facade was also documented, and fragments of varying sizes from the drone were gathered on its grounds.
“In return for gifts from St Nicholas, we’ll be receiving unique souvenirs,” Major Archbishop Shevchuk said.
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