The China Mail - 'They want to destroy us': Shock and anger as Russian attack sets Kyiv cathedral ablaze

The flames engulfed the roof of the building, set in the 11th-century landmark, blazing across the Ukrainian capital's skyline.

"I jumped up," Father Makariy told AFP from the monastery, hours after the strike.

"My God, what is happening? There is smoke here, there is fire here, there are people, confusion, people shouting: 'Air raid alert! Attention! Everyone hide!' So I hid too, as best I could," he said.

When the explosions first rung out, he stayed in bed, joking that he would rather leave space in the shelters to younger people.

Sitting next to a cordoned-off area hours later, he said the attack targeted not only the holy site, but Ukraine's identity.

"They not only want to destroy us physically, but they first and foremost want to erase our memory," the clergyman, with a long grey-and-white beard, said.

- 'The Lord himself' -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said two Russian drones had "deliberately" targeted the monastery -- one of the most important religious complexes in all of Ukraine.

It is also a revered site for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Moscow denied striking the cathedral, saying it was hit by an outdated US Patriot air defence missile.

Russia's army confirmed it had launched a "massive" air attack on the Ukrainian capital.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 70 missiles and 611 drones, mainly targeting Kyiv.

Father Makariy has been based at the 11th-century monastery for more than 20 years, taking daily walks through the grounds in awe of its spiritual weight.

When the Dormition Cathedral caught fire, he believed he saw a sign of God.

"As soon as the explosion occurred above the Dormition Cathedral, rain poured down like a wall. The Lord Himself began helping our firefighters extinguish all of this," he said.

By morning, the fire had been brought under control.

Under the bright sun, rescuers carefully sorted through the rubble.

Gaining rare access inside, AFP reporters saw icons hanging on the gold-decorated walls, seemingly unharmed.

But water was trickling through holes in the heavily damaged roof.

Emergency workers stood on the charred roof, still smelling of burning, sawing off damaged sections and tossing the debris into a pile.

"We will carry out the damaged property from the cathedral and begin restoration," a worker, who wished to stay anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to the media, told AFP.

- 'Hope for a better future' -

Outside the cordoned-off area, passersby came and went to check on the famed monastery.

Amongst them was Olha Kovalchuk, 39, and her two-year-old daughter, who was joyfully eating a hot dog in her pram.

The mother of two who lives nearby said her family often come to the monastery not only to pray, but also to walk and get some fresh air.

She looked on as workers picked up a golden dome, torn open and now laid on the floor.

They hoisted it onto a crate, while one worker held its pointed top to keep it from falling.

At one point, church bells rang out to the tune of the Ukrainian national anthem as investigators carried what appeared to be the remains of a Russian drone, which they said had crashed into the dome.

"It should not be like this. Not only in holy places -- nowhere should this happen," Kovalchuk, who was wearing a thin necklace with a silver cross, said.

She had moved from the outskirts of Kyiv, hoping to be better protected in the city centre, next to the holy site.

Despite the strikes, she said proximity to the Lavra still reassured her.

"We usually listen to the bells ringing -- it's calming. It gives hope for a better future and hope that sooner or later all of this will end," she said.

W.Tam--ThChM