Switzerland to fund reconstruction of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra after Russian strike
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, damaged in a Russian strike, will receive recovery assistance from Switzerland. The funds will be provided through UNESCO, with the amount announced during the shrine's 975th anniversary celebrations, according to acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Jacques Gerber, the Swiss government's delegate to Ukraine.
How much Switzerland allocates
Switzerland will allocate 600,000 Swiss francs—about $730,000—through UNESCO to protect and restore the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Jacques Gerber, the Swiss government's delegate to Ukraine, announced.
He made the announcement in Kyiv during celebrations marking the Lavra's 975th anniversary.
Gerber said he had a substantive discussion with Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna and UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany.
How Ukraine responded
Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed Switzerland's decision. He stressed that the support is particularly significant today—just two months before the Lavra's 975th anniversary, Russia deliberately struck the centuries-old shrine.
"While Russia seeks to destroy Ukraine's cultural heritage and erase our identity, our partners stand with us in protecting and preserving it for future generations," Sybiha said.
The minister thanked Switzerland for solidarity and personally thanked Jacques Gerber for joining the anniversary celebrations in Kyiv.
"Together, we are safeguarding Ukraine's heritage and an invaluable part of Europe's and the world's cultural legacy," Sybiha added.
As previously reported, overnight on June 15, a Russian drone deliberately struck the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the complex's main church and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A fire broke out inside the cathedral, damaging the iconostasis, paintings and frescoes. A week later, rescuers completed emergency repairs to the cathedral's roof.
