Russia Denies Hitting Historic Kyiv Monastery, Dismissing Accusations as Fake
Russia Responds to Accusations Over Kyiv Monastery Attack
Official Statements from Russian Authorities
MOSCOW, June 15 (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected as a "crude fake" accusations by Ukraine and the West that Moscow had struck a historic monastery in the Ukrainian capital during a massive attack overnight.
Details of the Monastery Damage
The 1,000-year-old monastery was badly damaged ahead of a G7 meeting in France this week.
Russian Defence Ministry's Position
Russia's Defence Ministry said earlier on Monday that it had not struck the Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv in what it described as an attack on military factories and blamed a U.S.-made Patriot air defence missile for damaging the religious site.
Accusations Against Ukraine and the West
Claims of Falsification
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine and the West of concocting what she called "another falsification" and "a crude fake" and said that the Russian Defence Ministry had described "what really happened."
Criticism of Western Leaders
In a statement, Zakharova also accused French President Emmanuel Macron and other European politicians of rushing to falsely condemn Moscow over the monastery damage, while keeping silent about deadly Ukrainian strikes on a student dormitory and on a museum in Crimea which destroyed an iconic work of art.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)
