On 25 June 2026, the German weekly “Die Zeit” published an in-depth interview with Sergii Bortnyk, which focused on the destruction of the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (see https://www.zeit.de/feuilleton/2026-06/sergij-bortnyk-theologie-abgebranntes-hoehlenkloster-kiew-russland).
This interview marked the resumption of active cooperation with this Germany’s most popular newspaper, following the significant coverage of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The title of the interview drew on a remark made by Maksym Ostapenko, director of the Lavra Reserve, who spoke of a “miracle” when a downpour helped to extinguish a fire after a Russian drone struck the roof of the Dormition Cathedral.
Sergii Bortnyk emphasized the great significance of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra for the identity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. At the same time, this destruction may carry symbolic significance, as Russian ecclesiastical and secular authorities have previously repeatedly highlighted the period of Kievan Rus’, with which they also associated their own identity. Thus, this destruction could symbolise the severing of ties between modern-day Russia and the legacy of the early Rus’ in the time of its Christianisation.
At the same time, Sergii Bortnyk emphasised that it was inappropriate to draw parallels with the fire at Notre-Dame in Paris in 2019, as the Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv, in its current state, had been rebuilt practically from scratch as recently as 2000.
You can watch the mentioned interview in its original language on our website – https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/die-zeit-lavra.pdf
Sergii Bortnyk gave another interview on the destruction at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to Elena Hong for WDR (West German Broadcasting) – see https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/audio/wdr5/wdr5-diesseits-von-eden/audio-russlands-krieg-gegen-die-kultur-100.html
