Russian drones strike monastery in Kyiv

The images from Kyiv are a PR disaster for Putin, comments political scientist Abbas Gallyamov on Facebook:

“By attacking the cave monastery, Putin has put at risk his carefully cultivated image as a defender of Christianity and champion of ‘traditional values’. It will now be much harder for [far-right digital influencer] Tucker Carlson and other Putin sympathisers in the West to whitewash his image. They will have to go on air against the backdrop of a burning cathedral. … And above all: what was the point?! What exactly did he hope to achieve with this move? That the war against him, which had so far been a patriotic struggle for the Ukrainians, now also takes on a sacred character? Well, congratulations, he has certainly succeeded on that score.”