Five injured, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery on fire as Ukraine repels air attacks, authorities say

KYIV – Five people were injured and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a symbol of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural history, caught fire following a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital, local authorities said, asking people to seek shelter.

The air attack damaged electricity lines and left 140,000 Kyiv residents without power, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram early on June 15, adding that houses and cars also caught fire after being hit by drone debris.

The city's central Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery was hit by a direct strike and a high-rise apartment building was also on fire, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the capital's military administration, said in a separate Telegram post. The city was under a massive missile attack, he added.

Five people were injured, with one woman in a serious condition, Klitschko said, without giving further details.

Drones continue to attack Kyiv from different directions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Telegram, with explosions heard in the city, a Reuters witness said.

The latest strikes come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on June 14 he had spoken to US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to achieve an end to the more than four-year war, ahead of a G7 meeting in France.

Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 that ending the conflict in Ukraine was vital and he was ready to help, the Kremlin said. REUTERS