Ukraine’s treasured Holy Wisdom Cathedral, a spiritual symbol of unity for both Catholics and Orthodox Christians, was damaged on June 10 during the largest drone assault on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The attack, which also struck the southern city of Odesa, killed up to seven people and injured 13, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the five-hour barrage — more than 315 drones — as one of the most intense in the three-year war.
Among the cultural casualties was the cathedral’s main apse, whose cornice was damaged by the blasts. The cathedral, known also as St. Sophia, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and stands at the heart of Ukraine’s Christian identity.
A survivor
Originally commissioned in the 11th century after the conversion of Grand Prince Volodymyr of Kyivan Rus’, Holy Wisdom (Saint Sophia) Cathedral is considered the mother church for Christians tracing their faith to the Christianization of Rus’ in the Byzantine tradition. The cathedral has survived Mongol invasions, Soviet suppression, and world wars — but this is the first time it has been physically damaged in the current conflict.
Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the U.S. called the strike “an assault on the soul of a people.”
Comparing the cathedral to global landmarks like St. Peter’s in Rome and Notre Dame in Paris, he stressed its moral and spiritual weight. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and relentless daily bombings spare nothing and no one,” he said.
Church leaders are mourning not only the physical damage to sacred space but also the broader human toll. According to Gudziak, over 4,000 schools, 1,600 hospitals, and hundreds of thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed. The Ukrainian Council of Churches reported that since 2022, 670 churches and houses of worship have been attacked, and 60 clergy from various traditions killed.
In Russian-occupied areas, reports of severe religious persecution are ongoing. Religious leaders have been jailed, churches repurposed for military use, and public worship tightly controlled. The Council appealed to the international community “to take all necessary measures to stop the barbarism perpetrated by the Russian Federation.”
Vadym Kyrylenko, deputy director general of the cathedral site, confirmed that restoration teams will assess the damage. UNESCO had already placed the cathedral on its endangered list in 2023, warning that further assaults could threaten its structural and cultural integrity.
In 2022, when intelligence first suggested Russia might target the cathedral, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych urged Christians worldwide to pray.
“May St. Sophia — the wisdom of God — illumine those who have considered committing this crime,” he had said then, echoing what many feel today: that protecting a nation’s sacred spaces is about more than architecture — it’s about safeguarding memory, meaning, and hope.
