A malfunctioning Patriot interceptor fired by Ukrainian air defense forces has struck a historic monastery in Kiev, Moscow says
Russian forces have carried out long-range attacks on military-industrial facilities in three major Ukrainian cities, as well as airfields and conscription offices, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Monday morning.
The strikes involved drones and missiles fired from air-, land-, and sea-based platforms, the ministry said, adding that all designated targets were hit.
In a more detailed follow-up statement, the Russian military said a total of 16 industrial targets were hit, including a plant producing warheads for Ukraine’s flagship Flamingo cruise missiles.
Ukrainian sources earlier reported attacks in Kiev, Kharkov, and Dnepr, the cities named in the Russian statement. The Ukrainian military said it had detected 70 incoming missiles and more than 600 drones. Officials also reported a partial power outage in Kiev and disruptions to rail services.
During the barrage, Ukrainian media published footage showing a fire at one of the cathedrals of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. Reports claimed the blaze was linked to the Russian operation.
The Russian ministry reiterated that it does not target sites with no military value and has blamed the damage on the monastery on a US-made Patriot interceptor missile. The statement suggested that the projectile may have malfunctioned due to old age.
Kiev has repeatedly complained of a shortage of Western-supplied air defense systems and of the need to conserve expensive anti-missile munitions, including Patriots.
The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery has itself been at the center of a prolonged dispute over control of its property. Ukrainian authorities have been pushing for church assets to be transferred from the historic Ukrainian Orthodox Church to either the government-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine or the state.
The Russian strikes come amid an escalation in long-range attacks by both sides. Kiev is reportedly seeking another $20 billion from Western backers to expand drone operations against Russia.
Last week, a Ukrainian strike caused major damage to a museum in Sevastopol dedicated to the defense of the Crimean Peninsula during the 19th-century war with Türkiye, Britain, and France.
The reported Russian attacks on Ukrainian conscription centers came hours after a large protest in Kiev, said to have been sparked by forced mobilization. The rare mass demonstration was broken up by riot police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to local media.
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