The wave of attacks came as news of a US-Iran deal started to open a path to peace in the Middle East war, highlighting the lack of progress toward an end to over four years of fighting in Ukraine.Five rescue workers were killed during firefighting operations in northeast Ukraine, while at least five others were wounded after Russian strikes hit the city of Kharkiv, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said Monday.The violence killed another four people in the capital, where fire broke out on the grounds of the UNESCO world heritage site Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the roof of the Dormition Cathedral was on fire.Residents were seen running through the streets seeking shelter as projectiles were intercepted in the sky and glowing debris fell across the city, AFP journalists in the capital witnessed.
People shelter in a metro station during a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital © Serhii Okunev / AFP
More than a dozen fire trucks surrounded the cathedral with firefighters working tirelessly to extinguish the blaze from the inside and from aerial platforms, an AFP journalist saw.A gaping hole could be seen on one side of the church, with flames visible from the roof which has been partially destroyed.'Repeated Russian strikes'Russian attacks damaged several buildings in the complex in January, the Ministry of Culture reported at the time. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a monastery with emblematic golden domes, had made headlines in recent years after the expulsion of its monks, who were accused of having ties with Moscow. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine officially broke away from Russia in 2022 and two years later the Ukrainian government went so far as to ban the Ukraine branch of the Orthodox Church linked to Moscow.Institutionally, the Russian Orthodox Church has stood full-square behind President Vladimir Putin since he launched Russia's offensive on Ukraine in 2022.
