Putin had two goals in attack on Kyiv's historic monastery, ISW says
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was damaged in a Russian attack (photo: Getty Images)
Russia's massive strike on Ukraine on the night of June 15, which hit the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, was intended to have not only a military impact but also a psychological effect, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using large-scale combined attacks to put pressure on Ukraine's civilian population.
According to ISW, such strikes are intended to demonstrate Russia's strength while also spreading fear among Ukrainians.
"Putin is employing massive strike packages against Kyiv City in an effort to break Ukraine's will to fight as well as to disguise his weakness, particularly his inability to secure Russian territory, including Russia’s capital, from Ukraine's deep strikes," the report said.
Russia came up with a new version of the strike on the Lavra and blamed Ukraine
The Russian information space is also trying to deflect blame by accusing Ukraine or justifying the strikes as a military necessity.
In particular, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that "confirmed reports" indicate that a Ukrainian Patriot interceptor missile struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Ukrainian officials quickly rejected these accusations. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat explained that fragments of an air defense missile found on the ground could indeed have resulted from air defense operations that likely intercepted an enemy Zirkon hypersonic missile.
The Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council confirmed that Russia had launched a coordinated information campaign.
The enemy is trying to impose two opposing narratives on the world: either that the Ukrainian military is destroying its own historical sites, or that these landmarks are legitimate military targets for the Russian military.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova brazenly claimed that the West fabricated allegations that the aggressor country had struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
In addition, she repeated the Russian Defense Ministry's claim that a Ukrainian Patriot interceptor missile struck the site.
Other Russian officials also claimed that Ukraine staged the strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and that Kyiv was blaming Moscow only to provoke a response.
What is known about the attack on the Lavra
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was damaged as a result of the Russian attack on June 15.
A fire broke out on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral after a strike hit the Stepanivskyi Chapel. The fire was extinguished, but the cathedral sustained damage, including damage to the iconostasis, paintings, and frescoes.
Following the strike, ancient icons, antiminsia, and other liturgical items that could have been endangered by the aftermath of the attack were urgently evacuated from the Lavra. The complex was temporarily closed to visitors.
Metropolitan Epiphanius called the attack by the Russian military another crime against humanity and Christianity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian forces deliberately struck the part of Kyiv where the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Mystetskyi Arsenal are located.
Later, the Security Service of Ukraine established which drones Russia used to strike the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The Russian Defense Ministry issued its own version of the massive attack on Ukraine.
