As Russia damages Ukraine's holiest sites, other countries are paying to rebuild them. Switzerland will contribute about $730,000 to the preservation and restoration of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, whose Dormition Cathedral was damaged in a Russian strike two months ago, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
The gift is a piece of an international effort to protect the Ukrainian heritage that Russia is attacking. On the night of 15 June, a Russian attack drone struck the altar section of the Dormition Cathedral, igniting a large fire that burned about 80% of the roof structures, according to UkrInform.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where the cathedral is located, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and carries enhanced protection under the 1954 Hague Convention's Second Protocol.
The strike hit a site weeks before its anniversary
Sybiha framed the strike as a deliberate blow to a spiritual landmark. Russia hit the centuries-old shrine two months before the Lavra's 975th anniversary, deliberately targeting one of Ukraine's most important spiritual and cultural landmarks, he said.
He tied the damage to a wider Russian aim.
"While Russia seeks to destroy Ukraine's cultural heritage and erase our identity, our partners stand with us in protecting and preserving it for future generations," Sybiha said.
Switzerland's aid comes through UNESCO
The Swiss contribution channels international heritage protection. Switzerland's Federal Council delegate for Ukraine, Jacques Gerber, announced in Kyiv that Switzerland would provide the contribution through UNESCO to protect and restore the shrine.
Sybiha thanked Switzerland for its support and for Gerber joining Ukraine in Kyiv to mark the 975th anniversary of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
"Together, we are safeguarding Ukraine's heritage and an invaluable part of Europe's and the world's cultural legacy," he said, framing the Lavra's preservation as a shared European and global responsibility, not Ukraine's alone.
The aid answers a documented campaign against heritage
As of the end of July 2026, Russian forces damaged or destroyed 1,990 cultural heritage sites and 2,625 cultural infrastructure sites in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government.
The Ministry of Culture records the highest number of damaged cultural heritage sites in Kharkiv Oblast — 358, Kherson Oblast — 303, Kyiv — 272, Donetsk Oblast — 229, and Odesa Oblast — 211.
Cultural institutions have been damaged in 354 territorial communities, representing 24% of all communities in Ukraine.
