Russia on Monday denied targeting a landmark cathedral in Kyiv during an overnight barrage on the Ukrainian capital, instead claiming the UNESCO-protected site was hit by a US-made Patriot air-defence missile. In a statement following the overnight strike, the Russian defense ministry claimed that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex was struck not by Russian weapons, but by an American-supplied interceptor that “malfunctioned” during the attack.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “According to confirmed reports, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex was hit by a missile from an American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. One of the reasons for the system’s malfunction could have been that Western countries supplied the Kyiv regime with expired missiles,” the ministry said. Dating back to the 11th century, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (or “cave monastery”) is considered one of the most sacred religious sites in Ukraine. The UNESCO-recognized site is owned by the Ukrainian government as a national reserve, and much of it has long been open to the public. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called the strikes deliberate attacks on humanity’s shared cultural heritage and urged the use of international accountability mechanisms, including UNESCO procedures. He said the strike on the Lavra placed Russia among “history’s worst barbarians,” comparing the destruction of Kyiv’s sacred sites to past eras of large-scale cultural devastation.