Damage from Russian strikes: Kyiv’s Caves Monastery losses exceed US$11m

The monastery takes its name from the Ukrainian word "pechera," meaning cave, while "lavra" refers to a major Orthodox monastery.

At the base of the building, debris had already been swept aside, but the acrid smell of burning lingered in the air.

Across town, in one of the worst bombardments of recent times, the explosions set fire to the Pechersk Lavra monastery, a sacred site to Ukrainians and home of the Orthodox Church in Kyiv for a thousand years.