On the night of June 15, 2026, a Russian missile damaged one of Ukraine’s most famous shrines – the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Not a military target. Not a headquarters. Not an ammunition depot, but the Dormition Cathedral. A place that survived the Mongols, tsars, Bolsheviks, and dozens of empires that have long turned to the dust of history
And now Russia has decided to add itself to this list. A country that calls itself a “defender of Orthodoxy” launches missiles and drones at shrines, cities, and civilians. That’s roughly akin to a serial arsonist leading the fire department and lecturing on fire safety.
The strike on the Lavra is not just another war crime but also evidence that Russia is fighting against Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. Why the Kremlin loses even when it destroys – in a piece by Ivan Arefiev for the Prompolitinform portal.
First, Russian propaganda will again talk about “precision strikes” and “exclusively military targets.” But there’s one problem: the Dormition Cathedral does not launch drones at Kursk, the bell towers do not attack Belgorod, and the monastery walls do not engage in counter-battery warfare.
Second, the strike on the Lavra is not a strike on a building. It is an attempt to strike at a symbol. Russia has long been fighting not just the Ukrainian army. It is fighting the Ukrainian language, culture, history, memory, and the very idea of an independent Ukraine’s existence.
Furthermore, this shelling once again demonstrates the true value of Russian talk about “brotherly peoples” and “defense of Orthodoxy.” Because it is hard to defend shrines while simultaneously launching missiles at them.
So here is yet another proof that Russia is waging war not just over territory. It is waging war against everything that reminds the world of Ukraine and its thousand-year history.
But there is one problem for the Kremlin’s strategists. They can damage the walls. They can shatter the windows. They can leave behind ash and ruins. But they cannot burn faith. They cannot erase memory. They cannot break a people.
Because the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is not just stone. Ukraine is not just territory. History is not just buildings. All of this lives in people.
And if Russia still hasn’t understood this, its end will be the same as all the previous conquerors who came to our Ukrainian land with fire and sword.
Their missiles will eventually run out. Their generals will sooner or later be found by the GUR (Intelligence Directorate). Their propagandists will also be overtaken by accountability.
And Kyiv will stand. As it stood for a thousand years before them. And it will stand for another thousand after them. Because empires come and go. But Ukraine remains.
Author: Ivan Arefiev
Collage: Andriy Atlantov
Photo: Instagram/Ministry of Culture
