Restoration work on kyiv’s Dormition Cathedral and the famous Orthodox Cave Lavra monastery surrounding it, damaged in a Russian attack the day before, could take around two years, its director said on Tuesday.
“According to estimates by our specialists, under optimal conditions, the restoration and rehabilitation work could take around two years,” said Maksym Ostapenko, director of this architectural ensemble classified as a UNESCO heritage site.
According to Maksym Ostapenko, the damage is currently estimated at around 500 million hryvnias (nearly 10 million euros at the current rate) and a more complete estimate should be finalized in the coming days.
“We are studying the possibility of resuming visits to the sites of the Lavra des Grottes (…) because they must continue to live,” he added, during a press conference in front of the Cathedral of the Dormition, whose roof was burned and damaged.
Russia’s denial
During the night from Sunday to Monday, new nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardments on Ukraine killed at least 11 people. Following these attacks, a fire hit the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, one of the churches in the kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery founded in the 11th century and whose golden domes overlook the Dnieper River.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia “deliberately” targeted with two drones “the part of the city” where this monastery is located. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said it had recovered debris from a Russian Gueran-2 drone at the impact site.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied targeting the cathedral, which also has strong religious importance for Russia, and assured that it had been hit by an American-made Patriot missile fired by Ukrainian air defenses.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berejna said the latest strikes constituted “one of the most significant attacks on Ukrainian culture and cultural heritage” since it began in 2022, with thirteen monuments and sites hit across the country.
