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Russia Unleashes Barrage on Ukraine 06/15 06:20
Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine's biggest
cities in a nighttime bombardment that killed at least 11 people and set fire
to a renowned religious site, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other
officials said Monday.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles
at Ukraine's biggest cities in a nighttime bombardment that killed at least 11
people and set fire to a renowned religious site, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy and other officials said Monday.
The attacks on the capital, Kyiv, and the second-largest city, Kharkiv, came
after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone
with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. The exchange suggests Washington
hasn't given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed
Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks on Tuesday between G7
leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy and Trump are due to attend the
gathering, as the Ukrainian leader pushes to keep the war on leaders' minds
while the Iran war diverts international attention from Ukraine's plight.
"This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,"
Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack.
"It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries ... and
that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor
and more support for Ukraine's air defense, especially anti-ballistic
capabilities," the Ukrainian leader said.
Children are among the wounded in Kyiv
Zelenskyy said that the Russian strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency
workers and wounded 53 across Ukraine.
Five were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, where at least 30
others were also wounded, including two children aged 5 and 6, according to
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's Military Administration.
A series of powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv, with a wave of
ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter
underground. Clouds of black smoke drifted over the city.
Five strikes hit civilian sites in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district in
less than 30 minutes, Tkachenko said, including a 25-story apartment building,
while a market and a grocery store caught fire. In the Obolonskyi district, a
nine-story residential building took a direct hit.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted defense and industrial
facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, including enterprises and workshops
producing components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said that a
workshop producing medium- and long-range drones located on the premises of the
Dovzhenko film studios in Kyiv was among the targets hit.
Russia also claimed to have hit Kyiv's Radar plant, which it said makes
drone components, and the Mayak plant that it said makes Ukraine's Flamingo
long-range cruise missiles. Military conscription offices in Kyiv were also
struck, it said.
There was no immediate information about the 11th person killed in the
attacks.
Religious site damaged in attack
In Kyiv, the bombardment damaged the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century
monastic complex and a religious landmark.
The roof of the complex's Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the attack,
said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He
condemned the strike as another Russian crime "against humanity, against
history, against Christianity" and appealed for prayers to save the site.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a
sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground,
built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the
UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of
caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).
Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the
attack Russia's "biggest crime yet against Christian culture." He visited the
scene on Monday morning together with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and
other members of his government.
The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the right bank of the
Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the
"equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame," referring to the Paris
cathedral.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the attack only strengthened the
determination of Ukraine's allies to pursue a ceasefire and work toward peace.
"Just as nothing can justify the war of aggression that Russia has been
waging against Ukraine for more than four years, nothing can justify this
attack on our shared universal heritage," Macron wrote on social media.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the
complex was hit by one of Ukraine's U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles,
saying that it might have veered off course because its shelf life had expired.
Russia fires more than 600 drones at Ukraine
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones
overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, while also striking the cities of Dnipro
and Kharkiv.
The military said air defenses intercepted or electronically suppressed 632
aerial targets, including 50 missiles and 582 drones.
Preliminary data showed 20 ballistic missiles and 27 attack drones hit 42
locations across the country, while debris from intercepted drones fell at 12
sites.
Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 123 Ukrainian drones
overnight.
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