Russian attack damages Kyiv's world heritage cathedral, says culture minister

Russian attack damages Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, UNESCO World Heritage site, symbolising Ukraine's statehood, prompting repair and UNESCO concern.

A Russian attack overnight damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral in the historic centre of Kyiv, one of Ukraine’s most significant monuments and a designated world heritage site, the Ukrainian Culture Minister said on Tuesday (June 10, 2025).

“Last night, the enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again,” Mykola Tochytskyi wrote on Facebook, calling the 11th-century cathedral “the soul of all Ukraine.”

“Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a shrine which survived for centuries and symbolises the birth of our statehood, was damaged,” he said.

He added that a blast wave damaged the cornice on the main apse of the landmark. Pieces of white plaster crumbled to the ground with a gap visible in a section of the cornice, Reuters video from the scene showed.

This is the first time since the start of the war that the cathedral has been damaged, first deputy director general of the site Vadym Kyrylenko told reporters. But Russian drones flying close to the ground present a threat amid continuous air attacks on the capital.

“As our security guards say, sometimes (drones) almost touch the crosses on the bell tower 76 m above the ground,” he said.

The cathedral was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1990 for its architectural importance. The United Nations’ heritage body describes the white cathedral and monastery complex with green roofs and golden domes as a symbol of the “new Constantinople” created in the region.