Wind blows cross from St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

The cause of the incident, which happened on 14 January, goes back 40 years when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union, and the crosses on the cathedral dome were restored because of the Summer Olympics in 1980. That is at least what Vadym Kyrylenko says.

According to the Deputy Director-General of the "National Historical and Cultural Reserve Sophia of Kyiv", Soviet restorers either were in a hurry or made a mistake RBC-Ukraine writes based on TSN News.

The restorers at that time wrapped the base of the crosses, which also consists of ferrous metal, with copper. And this cannot be done because the metals simply ate each other. "There are laws of physics; there are rules of chemistry; they are unshakable. These metals worked together and ate each other", Kirilenko explains. If everything is done according to the technology, the construction can stand forever.

Strong wind

Now experts are conducting an unscheduled inspection of domes and crosses. If they find crosses that may pose a danger to people, they will be removed and installed in the summer, when restoration can be done.

Interestingly, in 1943 a cross also fell from the dome of St. Sophia Cathedral. Then lightning became the cause of the incident.

On Friday, 14 January, the maximum wind speed in the Ukrainian capital was 23 m/s (83 km/h). It was close to a record high of 25m/s, recorded on 20 March 1881.