A historic Bernardine monastery complex and the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Lviv, Ukraine, were damaged by aerial drone strikes on March 24, just before the start of Holy Week.
The attack is part of what officials describe as the largest single-day assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The incident has raised concerns about the safety of cultural heritage sites and civilian areas amid ongoing conflict.
Local authorities said that historic apartment buildings near the 16th-century Bernardine monastery—part of Lviv’s UNESCO World Heritage Site—were struck and caught fire. The tower of the monastery also suffered damage. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene was hit during the strike, resulting in broken windows and shattered glass inside the building.
“Thank God … it happened in the afternoon,” Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv told Vatican News. “People were still at work, children had not yet returned from school, and there were no fatalities. There are only injured people,” he said.
According to Ukrainian officials cited by The Associated Press, nearly 400 long-range drones targeted Ukraine overnight; six people were killed and 46 injured nationwide. In a separate incident nearby in Ivano-Frankivsk region, a maternity hospital was also hit.
UNESCO issued a statement on March 25 saying it was “deeply alarmed” by these attacks and reminded that “cultural property is protected under the 1954 Hague Convention and the 1972 World Heritage Convention.” UNESCO added it “stands ready to support the authorities with assessments, protection measures and emergency assistance.”
Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv posted condolences to victims on Facebook: “We express our condolences to all the victims. Eternal memory to the innocently killed.” The university noted that such attacks show densely populated residential areas are being targeted.
In his video address on March 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this latest escalation “clearly shows that Russia has no intention of really ending this war,” according to BBC reports.
Archbishop Mokrzycki described how years of conflict have left Ukrainians accustomed to air raid alarms but living with daily losses: “This war is also ongoing on another front,” he told Vatican News’ Polish section. He emphasized that residents experience its effects not only during attacks but throughout everyday life marked by loss and uncertainty.
