The Russian Ministry of Defense responded to accusations that it had targeted a civilian mall earlier on Monday, June 27. According to the MoD, Russian forces conducted an airstrike that targeted the Kremenchug ammo stockpile in Ukraine which resulted in a fire at a close-by trading center.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the location of the arms stockpile was near the Kredmash factory. The Amstor Mall, where a fire was reported by Ukrainian sources on Monday, is right next to it. The military claimed that the Western munitions detonated and caused a fire at the shopping center, which was no longer operating.

Russia had previously warned that it will target any Western weapons that reach Ukraine for the proxy war against Russia. While Ukraine knew the weapons would be at risk of a strike, it kept them in the vicinity of civilian centers.

See more: The West arms Ukraine

On the other hand, Ukrainian officials claimed that the attack targeted a people-filled mall and that 18 people were killed and 59 people injured with approximately 25 that were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated, previously, that the mall has no strategic value for Russia, making Russia’s narrative given that it had been targeting the Western arsenal in Ukraine for several days, more viable.

A city in central Ukraine, Kremenchug, is located 250 kilometers southeast of Kiev. A significant oil refinery in the city had earlier been targeted by the Russian military, depriving the Ukrainian troops of fuel for their vehicles.

Read more: Medvedev: Any attempt to encroach Crimea is a declaration of war