At least nine people were killed throughout Ukraine following Russian air strikes -- including on a UNESCO-protected monastery -- hours after US President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and told him he wanted to help end the war.Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said Russian strikes killed five rescue workers and wounded at least five others in the Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, located in the northeast of the country."In Kharkiv, five State Emergency Service rescuers were killed as they were fighting fires as a result of repeated Russian strikes. At least 5 more were wounded," Klymenko wrote on Telegram.
Authorities also said that six people, including an infant, were injured in a fire at the Kharkiv Art Museum as the result of a Russian air strike."A localized fire in the building of an art museum with an area of 1,200 square meters. Work is under way to finally put it out," Ukraine’s emergency service authorities said.'Brutal Assault' On Heritage SiteIn the capital, Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a “massive” overnight attack caused damage and fires in nearly all districts of the city. Authorities said four people were killed at least 23 others were injured.Among the buildings struck was the main cathedral at the historic Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), a UNESCO world heritage site, where firefighters were still battling blazes early on June 15. At least 13 people were injured."A brutal assault on our people and our heritage. This is the true face of Russia's Orthodox values," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X.More than a dozen fire engines were near the monastery grounds in the morning hours, with firefighters working to extinguish the blaze from the inside and from outside platforms, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.Ukraine Hits BackMeanwhile, Kyiv has continued its recently intensified attacks on Russian industrial and energy infrastructure sites as it attempts to interrupt the Kremlin’s flow of funds used to fuel its war against Ukraine.
