World Heritage Site Catches Fire: Russia Claims Ukrainian Patriot Missile Malfunctioned and Hit Monastery

Russia's Defense Ministry has denied Ukrainian claims that Russian forces attacked the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ukraine had accused Russia of deliberately targeting the monastery during a large-scale air raid on Kyiv.

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Based on confirmed reports, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex was hit by a missile fired from a U.S.-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. One of the reasons for the system's malfunction may be that Western countries supplied expired missiles to the Kyiv regime.

However, Russia asserts that the damage was caused by a malfunctioning U.S.-made Patriot missile fired by Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that Western countries may have supplied Kyiv with expired missiles, leading to the system's failure and the accidental strike on the historic site. Russia maintains that its military operations did not target the World Heritage site.

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Our military strike targets were not this UNESCO-protected World Heritage site.

This dispute over the monastery's damage occurred amidst a broader air assault on Kyiv, which included ballistic missiles and Shahed drones. The Dormition Cathedral within the Lavra complex reportedly caught fire, prompting an emergency response. Meanwhile, in Kharkiv, five rescue workers were killed and at least five others injured during a second wave of Russian attacks while they were extinguishing fires from an earlier raid.

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deliberately attacked