Taoiseach Micheál Martin has described a Russian drone strike on the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery as an assault on Ukraine’s culture and history. He made the comments during a visit to the Unesco-listed World Heritage Site in Kyiv on Thursday, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reaffirmed Ireland’s support for Ukrainian sovereignty.
Damage from drone strike
Mr Martin was shown damage from a drone strike on the cathedral in June, which caused significant harm to the upper section of the eastern wall, the roof and the domes. Monastery officials told him it was a “miracle” that rain fell that night, preventing further damage to the roof and the elaborate murals on the ceiling inside. The Taoiseach viewed video and photos of the cathedral roof on fire and discussed conservation efforts with the director of the Lavra.
It was pointed out that murals on one side of the ceiling were darker than the other, illustrating how close the historic structure came to more serious damage. The monastery, built between the 11th and 19th centuries, includes gold-domed churches and underground structures.
‘Like a phoenix’
This is the first time the monastery has been targeted in an armed conflict since the Second World War, but it has a long history of restoration. Guide Yulia Vizir told Mr Martin the monastery was damaged by an earthquake in 1230, the Mongol army, nomadic forces, a large fire in 1718, and had its murals destroyed in 1893. The cathedral was almost destroyed by Soviet explosions in 1941.
Director general of the National Reserve of the Lavra, Maksym Ostapenko, told the Taoiseach the building was “like a phoenix” in how it has recovered from damage over the centuries. “Russia tried to completely erase this history,” Mr Ostapenko said. Russia has denied responsibility for the June drone attack.
Condemnation and support
Mr Martin said: “It is devastating to see first-hand the impact of Russia’s campaign of aerial attacks in Ukraine. Along with targeting innocent civilians and critical energy infrastructure, Russia’s attack on the Kyiv’s iconic and irreplaceable Lavra is an assault on Ukraine’s culture and history. It is totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable.”
The Taoiseach praised Ukrainian resilience and courage against Russian aggression, saying Europe needed to be “always conscious” of their suffering. Speaking outside a bombed-out apartment block in the Lukianivska residential area, he said: “The citizens of these major cities, they don’t know when a missile will strike or a drone will strike. That has to be extraordinarily traumatic, so whatever problems we have, they pale in insignificance when you compare it to the trauma Ukrainians experience.”
