Unknown vandals defiled the chapel dedicated to the icon "Praise of the Pechersk" and the "Tears of the Most Holy Mother of God" spring at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, as reported by the Lavra's lawyer Nikita Chekman in his Telegram channel.

The malefactors painted the walls of the church and the spring with paint. Additionally, near the shrine, they drew symbols of a sword and the Prussian Iron Cross, used by Nazi Germany until 1945.

The icon "Praise of the Pechersk" was traditionally gifted to the Lavra by the Russian Tsar Peter I. The image is adorned with a robe made in 1840. Until 1961, the icon resided in the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, then in one of the villages in the Kiev region, and from the early 1980s in the Zolotonosha Monastery. In 1999, it was returned to the Lavra. The icon holds fragments of many relics, including the remains of numerous saints.

The chapel dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God "Praise of the Pechersk" stands above the spring near the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The spring is devoted to the Mother of God and is popularly known as the "Tears of the Most Holy Mother of God." It has been known since the 11th century. According to legend, the spring was found during an epidemic. Shepherds from the left bank of the Dnieper saw the Mother of God. They crossed the river, and where the Mother of God stood, a spring gushed. After tasting the water, the shepherds were healed. In Soviet times, many knew about it but couldn't disclose the information. In the 1970s, when the embankment was being built, all the springs in the vicinity were drained. By a miracle, the spring devoted to the Mother of God survived. In the early 2000s, it was at risk of closure as some water indicators exceeded the norm. Work was done to clear the area and purify the spring itself. A reanalysis confirmed the water's suitability.