Russia Unleashes Barrage on Ukraine    06/15 06:20

   Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine's biggest 
cities in a nighttime bombardment that killed at least 11 people and set fire 
to a renowned religious site, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other 
officials said Monday.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles 
at Ukraine's biggest cities in a nighttime bombardment that killed at least 11 
people and set fire to a renowned religious site, Ukrainian President Volodymyr 
Zelenskyy and other officials said Monday.

   The attacks on the capital, Kyiv, and the second-largest city, Kharkiv, came 
after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone 
with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. The exchange suggests Washington 
hasn't given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed 
Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

   The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks on Tuesday between G7 
leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy and Trump are due to attend the 
gathering, as the Ukrainian leader pushes to keep the war on leaders' minds 
while the Iran war diverts international attention from Ukraine's plight.

   "This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war," 
Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack.

   "It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries ... and 
that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor 
and more support for Ukraine's air defense, especially anti-ballistic 
capabilities," the Ukrainian leader said.

   Children are among the wounded in Kyiv

   Zelenskyy said that the Russian strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency 
workers and wounded 53 across Ukraine.

   Five were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, where at least 30 
others were also wounded, including two children aged 5 and 6, according to 
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's Military Administration.

   A series of powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv, with a wave of 
ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter 
underground. Clouds of black smoke drifted over the city.

   Five strikes hit civilian sites in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district in 
less than 30 minutes, Tkachenko said, including a 25-story apartment building, 
while a market and a grocery store caught fire. In the Obolonskyi district, a 
nine-story residential building took a direct hit.

   Russia's Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted defense and industrial 
facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, including enterprises and workshops 
producing components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said that a 
workshop producing medium- and long-range drones located on the premises of the 
Dovzhenko film studios in Kyiv was among the targets hit.

   Russia also claimed to have hit Kyiv's Radar plant, which it said makes 
drone components, and the Mayak plant that it said makes Ukraine's Flamingo 
long-range cruise missiles. Military conscription offices in Kyiv were also 
struck, it said.

   There was no immediate information about the 11th person killed in the 
attacks.

   Religious site damaged in attack

   In Kyiv, the bombardment damaged the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century 
monastic complex and a religious landmark.

   The roof of the complex's Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the attack, 
said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He 
condemned the strike as another Russian crime "against humanity, against 
history, against Christianity" and appealed for prayers to save the site.

   The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a 
sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, 
built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the 
UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of 
caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).

   Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the 
attack Russia's "biggest crime yet against Christian culture." He visited the 
scene on Monday morning together with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and 
other members of his government.

   The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the right bank of the 
Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.

   French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the 
"equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame," referring to the Paris 
cathedral.

   French President Emmanuel Macron said the attack only strengthened the 
determination of Ukraine's allies to pursue a ceasefire and work toward peace.

   "Just as nothing can justify the war of aggression that Russia has been 
waging against Ukraine for more than four years, nothing can justify this 
attack on our shared universal heritage," Macron wrote on social media.

   Russia's Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the 
complex was hit by one of Ukraine's U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, 
saying that it might have veered off course because its shelf life had expired.

   Russia fires more than 600 drones at Ukraine

   Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones 
overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, while also striking the cities of Dnipro 
and Kharkiv.

   The military said air defenses intercepted or electronically suppressed 632 
aerial targets, including 50 missiles and 582 drones.

   Preliminary data showed 20 ballistic missiles and 27 attack drones hit 42 
locations across the country, while debris from intercepted drones fell at 12 
sites.

   Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 123 Ukrainian drones 
overnight.