Russian attack left Kyiv's world heritage cathedral damaged, says culture minister

Ukraine minister said a blast wave damaged the cornice on the main apse of the 11th-century UNESCO World Heritage site.

A Russian attack overnight damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral in the historic centre of Kyiv, one of Ukraine's most significant monuments and a designated world heritage site, the Ukrainian culture minister said on Tuesday.

"It is not only protected by our state, it is protected by the whole world. It is the heritage of the whole world," first deputy director general of the site Vadym Kyrylenko said. (Facebook/Mykola Tochytskyi)

"Last night, the enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again," Mykola Tochytskyi wrote on Facebook, calling the 11th-century cathedral "the soul of all Ukraine."

"Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a shrine which survived for centuries and symbolizes the birth of our statehood, was damaged," he said.

He added that a blast wave damaged the cornice on the main apse of the landmark. Pieces of white plaster crumbled to the ground with a gap visible in a section of the cornice, Reuters video from the scene showed.

This is the first time since the start of the war that the cathedral has been damaged, first deputy director general of the site Vadym Kyrylenko told reporters. But Russian drones flying close to the ground present a threat amid continuous air attacks on the capital.

"As our security guards say, sometimes (drones) almost touch the crosses on the bell tower 76 meters above the ground," he said.

The cathedral was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1990 for its architectural importance. The United Nations' heritage body describes the white cathedral and monastery complex with green roofs and golden domes as a symbol of the "new Constantinople" created in the region.

Kyrylenko reported no critical damage but said the almost 1000-year-old site will be inspected by a specialized institute and repaired.

Over a year after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee placed the Saint Sophia Cathedral on the list of World Heritage in Danger "due to the threat of destruction the Russian offensive poses" to the monument and integrity of its ancient interiors, mosaics and frescoes.

The site was also vulnerable to shock waves it said.

"It is not only protected by our state, it is protected by the whole world. It is the heritage of the whole world," Kyrylenko said.