A Russian overnight attack on Ukraine’s capital has damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, one of the most famous and cherished monuments in Ukraine and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Officials reported that a blast wave destroyed the cornice on the central apse of the cathedral, damaging the monument that embodies the country's spiritual and cultural heritage.
"Last night, the enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again," Ukraine’s culture minister Mykola Tochytskyi said after the attack.
Tochytskyi said St Sophia Cathedral was "a holy place that has survived through centuries and symbolises the birth of our nationhood."
“The 11th-century cathedral is the soul of all Ukraine. Russia is raging its war not only against our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory and future," he emphasised.
The management of St Sophia Cathedral has informed UNESCO about the damage caused to the historic site by a recent Russian airstrike, according to Nelia Kukovalska, General Director of the National Reserve "Sophia of Kyiv".
Located in Kyiv’s historic city centre, St Sophia was initially designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
UNESCO describes it as "a unique monument of architecture and monumental art of the early 11th century, having the biggest preserved collection of mosaics and frescoes of that period."
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, UNESCO has put St Sophia Cathedral and other historic sites in Ukraine on the UN danger list, saying, "faced with the risk of direct attack, these sites are also vulnerable to the shockwaves caused by the bombing."
