Ukraine claimed that the recent fire at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, one of the holiest places in Orthodox Christianity, was the result of Russia deliberately targeting the facility. A quick glance at the damage, however, reveals that it was either caused by an errant US Patriot missile (which was possibly expired per the Russian Defense Ministry) or debris from an intercepted Russian missile. Russia had hit military targets in Kiev that day so either scenario is plausible, though the first more so than the second.
Whichever of these two versions one believes to be true, the fact of the matter is that a direct hit by a Russian missile that deliberately targeted the Kiev Pechersk Lavra like Ukraine claimed would have obliterated everything there, not set the root on fire for a little while. Nevertheless, the dramatic images were predictably exploited by Ukraine to blame Russia, coincidentally right as the latest G7 Summit in France was taking place. That, however, doesn’t mean that this is a false flag by Ukraine to blame Russia.
After all, it was the Russian Defense Ministry which reported that a possibly defective US Patriot missile was to blame, and Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service didn’t issue any advance warning of an impending false flag attack against the facility nor report afterwards that one was responsible for this. Therefore, since not even official Russian sources are speculating that Ukraine deliberately destroyed part of this sacred place, anyone who claims otherwise risks discrediting themselves.
Having explained why neither Russia nor Ukraine targeted the Kiev Pechersk Lavrva, with either a possibly defective US Patriot missile or Russian missile debris to blame, it’s now time to reference what Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had to say about this. She caustically pointed out how the West didn’t say anything after last month’s Starobelsk dormitory bombing nor when police raided the premises last year as part of Zelensky’s crackdown against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
These are valid points which reinforce the perception that the West’s outrage over this tragic accident is part of its anti-Russian propaganda campaign. As usual, they took for granted Russia’s culpability and then insulted their audience’s intelligence by asking them to believe that a direct hit from a Russian missile caused only a relatively contained fire instead of destroying everything. Only those who already fiercely dislike Russia believe that it was responsible and lent false credence to this crude narrative.
As for all others, they likely suspect that they’re being lied to even if they’re unaware of what the Russian Defense Ministry said about how a US Patriot missile was to blame. Putin has been holding his forces back these four and a half years due to his sincere belief that Russians and Ukrainians are kindred people. The odds of him abruptly abandoning his deep belief right as Western leaders met at this year’s G7 Summit, consequently deciding to destroy this sacred site, and then inexplicably failing are nil.
The takeaway from what happened at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is that Ukraine opportunistically decided to blame Russia for what was arguably a tragic accident and its Western patrons gleefully ran with it. None of this is surprising, but it’s nonetheless immoral considering the religious implications of lying about how this sacred site was damaged, which is why Russia didn’t reciprocally accuse Ukraine of doing so deliberately. It should therefore be applauded for this restraint no matter which side one is on.
