Zelensky promises to restore Lavra's damaged Dormition Cathedral
Zelensky inspected the damaged shrine and ordered funds from the Reserve Fund to be allocated for the immediate conservation of the monastery’s main church.
On June 15, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where he inspected the damage and assured that all damaged sites would be fully restored. Together with representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the head of state documented the aftermath of the air attack that caused a fire on the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, according to Ukrinform.
The government will allocate “quick money” from the Reserve Fund for urgent work to conserve the building. According to the president, specialists will first carry out an expert assessment and determine the scale of the damage, after which full restoration will begin.
“The main thing is to preserve what we have, and then restoration work will follow,” Zelensky stressed.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has been tasked with overseeing the process.
The president called the strike on the Lavra “barbarism” and an open attack on Christianity and the cultural heritage of all humanity. He urged the international community not to remain silent in response to attacks on an Orthodox shrine and stressed that there can be no justification for such actions.
As the UOJ reported, the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra caught fire as a result of the Russian attack.
