Russia Blames ‘Expired’ US Patriot Missile for Strike on Kyiv Landmark Cathedral – Despite Shahed Debris at Site
In brief: Russia denied striking Kyiv’s UNESCO-listed Lavra after the monastery complex caught fire during a massive attack involving 70 missiles and 611 drones. Moscow blamed a malfunctioning US Patriot missile, while Zelensky urged G7 leaders to respond decisively and strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses.
Ukrainian firefighters work at the roof of the damaged Dormition Cathedral in the Orthodox complex of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv on June 15, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Serhii Okunev / AFP)
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 defense 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 a US-supplied interceptor missile that “malfunctioned” during the attack.
“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.
Those claims were debunked before the ministry statement even came out. According to the Guardian, reporting from the site: “Outside the Perchersk-Lavra complex on Monday morning a group of state security officers stood over the remains of two Shahed drones at the site, contradicting the Russian claim.”
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.
Ukrainian 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.
Before Attack
After attack
See one of my earlier blogs about the weaponisation of religion in Ukrane:
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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