Ukrainian officials are working to preserve valuable religious icons and relics following a missile strike that severely damaged a historic cathedral in Kyiv on Monday. The attack caused a blackened hole in the roof of the white-walled building, part of the UNESCO-listed Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex, which remains smoke-tinged as cleanup efforts continue.

Maksym Ostapenko, director of the national trust responsible for the site, said he and his team arrived early at the scene and entered the burning cathedral to salvage the ancient artifacts despite heavy smoke and flames. “There was a lot of smoke, a lot of fire. But it was our job to save these items,” he said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strike, describing it as “the most serious crime against Christian culture to date.” He was expected to urge then U.S. President Donald Trump to approve additional sales of Patriot missiles to replenish Ukraine’s nearly depleted air defense supplies.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported that the missile attacks also damaged surrounding residential areas, civilian infrastructure, a museum, and one of Ukraine’s oldest film studios within the capital. On Sadova Street, an unpaved road on Kyiv’s outskirts, a large crater was left by remnants of a Russian missile intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses. Children played nearby amid the destruction while some homes in the vicinity sustained serious damage.

Several residents, including two hospitalized individuals, survived the blast. Anna Fedchenko, a manicurist whose family’s summer home was destroyed, described the scene as she sat among the ruins. “Yesterday, we had a dacha here,” she said, noting household items strewn across the debris. Fedchenko and her family had stayed overnight in central Kyiv, where many residents sought refuge in underground shelters.

However, several neighborhoods such as Sadova Street lack such protective infrastructure. Medical worker Nataliya Stepanenko recounted spending the night in a corridor, covering her head with her arms to shield herself. “If something had hit our house, we would have been trapped inside,” she said.

The incident underscores ongoing concerns about the protection of cultural heritage sites and civilian areas amid the intensifying conflict in Ukraine. Efforts to safeguard both historic landmarks and vulnerable communities continue as the city recovers from the latest wave of missile strikes.