By AFP and Kontur | 2026-02-02

A Russian drone and missile attack has damaged parts of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine's most famous religious landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ukraine's culture ministry said on January 26.

"A preliminary visual inspection revealed damage to doors and window frames," the ministry said in a statement, sharing photos of a cracked window and an open notebook covered with specks of plaster.

AFP was not able to immediately verify the extent of the damage.

The UNESCO-listed complex, founded in the 11th century, is home to more than 100 buildings as well as a subterranean labyrinth of caves where monks stay and worship.

Orthodox Christians consider it Ukraine's spiritual center.

Russia's invasion almost four years ago has damaged hundreds of historical buildings, including religious sites, museums and libraries, according to UNESCO.

'In danger' list

In September 2023, the UN's cultural organization placed World Heritage Sites in Kyiv and Lviv on its "in danger" list, saying they are at risk from the war sparked by Russia's invasion.

The decision, taken at UNESCO's annual world heritage committee meeting in Riyadh, was a step towards better protection of the historic sites, the UN's cultural organization said.

Their inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger also opened "the door to additional financial and technical aid in order to implement new emergency measures," it said in a statement.

UNESCO said it had added Kyiv's Saint Sophia Cathedral and the medieval buildings of the city's Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery site to the list "due to the threat of destruction the Russian offensive poses."

The decision had been taken because "optimal conditions are no longer met to fully guarantee the protection" of the sites "threatened by potential danger due to the war."

The two historic sites have "remained under permanent threat since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022," the statement added.

Kyiv's Saint Sophia cathedral dates back to the 11th century and is one of the city's best-known landmarks.

Lviv, the western Ukrainian city near the Polish border, was founded in the late Middle Ages and its historic center was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998.

The move came after a January 2023 decision by UNESCO to add the center of Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa to the World Heritage List.

In July that year, Odesa's city center and an Orthodox cathedral were damaged in a Russian strike condemned by UNESCO.