Claims by Ukrainian officials that Russia deliberately attacked civilian targets in Kiev on Monday are “absolutely untrue,” the Defense Ministry in Moscow has stated.
The Ukrainian capital was rocked by a series of powerful explosions earlier in the day, according to numerous videos published by local media. Civilians on the ground were reportedly injured.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has accused Moscow of deliberately targeting a prominent children’s hospital, claiming that “it’s impossible that Russia does not know where its missiles fly and must fully answer for its crimes.”
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko has branded Russia “a nation of terrorists and scum,” adding that at least seven people were killed in the capital.
The Russian military confirmed firing a barrage of long-range missiles on Monday, but stressed that it was targeting military factories and airfields in Ukraine.
“Claims by representatives of the Kiev regime alleging a purportedly deliberate Russian strike on civilian sites are absolutely not true,” the statement said.
“Numerous photos and videos from Kiev irrefutably confirm destruction by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, which was fired by a launcher positioned inside the city,” it stated.
Russia reportedly used hypersonic air-launched Kinzhal missiles in the barrage. Senior Ukrainian officials have claimed that the weapons are vulnerable to interception by Patriot missile systems. Last week, a senior air defense commander said that no Kinzhal had pierced the American-made shield so far, despite Moscow firing over 20 of them.
“All the Kinzhal missiles launched at the Ukrainian capital since the deployment of Patriot systems was announced were successfully stopped. Not a single ballistic missile since May 2023 reached its target in the capital,” Colonel Sergey Yaryomenko, commander of the 96th air defense brigade, told the Ukrinform news outlet.
Moscow has previously said that Kiev exaggerates its interception rates. The Ukrainians claim to have shot down more Kinzhals than Russian forces have actually deployed, according to senior Russian military officials.