France likens Russian attack on Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra to Notre-Dame bombing

French foreign minister Jean‑Noël Barrot condemned Russia’s strike on Kyiv’s historic Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO‑listed Orthodox monastery, saying the damage was comparable to the bombing of Paris’ Notre‑Dame or the Saint‑Denis basilica. He called the attack “unacceptable.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the assault on the 11th‑century Ascension Cathedral within the Lavra as a grave crime against Christian culture and urged the G7 to tighten pressure on Moscow and boost Ukraine’s air‑defence support. The raids on Kyiv left four people dead and at least 23 injured; in Kharkiv five rescuers were killed and five more wounded.

Poland responded by deploying combat aircraft and placing air‑defence systems on heightened alert. The statements came ahead of the G7 summit in France, where the war in Ukraine will be a central agenda item.