Moscow says foreign embassies damaged in Kiev by Ukraine Air Defenses
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Russia has rejected claims accusing its forces of damaging foreign embassy buildings in Kiev, blaming Ukraine's Air Defenses instead.
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Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, January 19, 2024. (AFP)
Claims that Russia is causing damage to foreign embassy buildings in Kiev are "totally baseless", Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Wednesday, attributing the issues faced by foreign diplomats to Ukraine's air defense systems.
"The attempts by Kiev and the West to shift the focus from their terrorist attacks to Russia’s alleged responsibility for, as they put it, the damage to the premises of several foreign diplomatic missions in Kiev are totally baseless," Zakharova said.
According to the spokeswoman, the Ukrainian forces' improper usage of Western-supplied air defense systems has sparked issues faced by foreign diplomats in Ukraine.
On December 20, the Russian armed forces conducted a large-scale strike using long-range weapons after Kiev shelled the Kamensky chemical plant in Russia's Rostov region. The strike specifically targeted the Ukrainian Security Service command post and the Luch design bureau, responsible for producing Neptune missile systems and ground-based cruise missiles for Vilkha launchers.
Ukrainian officials claimed that several embassy buildings in Kiev were also damaged in the attack, although evidence was not provided to back its claims.
Kharkiv hit by intense ballistic missile barrage from Russia
Earlier today, a "massive missile attack" struck Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine, early Wednesday, according to Mayor Igor Terekhov.
"Kharkiv is under a massive missile attack. A series of explosions were heard in the city, and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the city," Terekhov stated on Telegram.
The regional governor reported seven Russian strikes, noting that the number of casualties was still being determined. The governor of the Kherson region also claimed that one person had been killed and three others injured over the last 24 hours.
In a related context, Ukraine's Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, stated that Russia was launching extensive attacks on the country's energy sector, though he did not specify the targeted cities.
"The enemy is again massively attacking the energy sector," Galushchenko wrote on Telegram.
This comes as Russia has intensified its push across eastern Ukraine in recent months, aiming to gain as much ground as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January.
Read more: More Americans in favor of quick end to Ukrainian conflict: Survey
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
