Intro: Russia denied responsibility for monastery damage, blaming air defense systems and accusing Western nations of misinformation.
Moscow
Russia on Monday firmly rejected accusations from Ukraine and Western countries that its forces had struck a historic monastery in Kyiv during a large-scale overnight attack, describing the allegations as false and misleading.
The controversy centers on the centuries-old Pechersk Lavra monastery, one of Ukraine’s most significant religious and cultural landmarks. Reports emerged after the overnight assault that the monastery had suffered substantial damage, drawing criticism from Ukraine and several Western governments ahead of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting scheduled to take place in France later this week.
Responding to the accusations, Russia’s Defence Ministry stated that its military had not targeted the monastery. According to the ministry, the operation was directed against what it described as military-industrial facilities and factories connected to Ukraine’s defense sector. Russian officials argued that the damage to the religious site was caused by a missile from a United States-made Patriot air defense system rather than by a Russian strike.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova strongly dismissed the claims against Moscow. In an official statement, she characterized the allegations as another falsification and a crude fake, asserting that the Russian Defence Ministry had already provided an accurate explanation of the events.
Zakharova further accused Ukraine and its Western allies of deliberately spreading misinformation regarding the incident. She argued that critics of Russia had rushed to assign blame without waiting for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the damage to the monastery.
The Russian spokeswoman also directed criticism at French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders. She claimed that they had been quick to condemn Moscow over the damage to the religious site while remaining silent about other incidents that Russia attributes to Ukrainian attacks.
Among those incidents, Zakharova cited strikes on a student dormitory and a museum in Crimea. She alleged that the museum attack resulted in the destruction of an iconic artwork and accused Western governments of applying double standards in their responses to such events.
