Officials at the Russian embassy in Ireland have denied that their country has targeted a crowded shopping center in Central Ukraine with a missile attack.
Two missiles crashed into a Kremenchuk shopping center, killing at least 18 people, officials said. I’m going on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday accused the attack of being a “new war crime.”
When rescue teams scrutinized the burnt wreckage of shopping centers, the Russian embassy in Dublin issued a statement denying targeting it. The center also claimed to be “not functioning.”
It claimed that the “Russian Aerospace Forces” had carried out “high-precision” strikes on “hangers storing weapons and ammunition received by Ukrainian forces from the United States and European countries in the area of the Kremenchuk vehicle factory.”
“The explosion of stored ammunition caused a fire in a non-functional shopping center next to the factory.”
A local woman, Kateryna Romashyna, told reporters on the ground in Kremenchuk that she had just arrived in the center when the explosion beat her. About 10 minutes later, when another explosion occurred, she realized she needed to escape.
“I tried my best to escape from the epicenter,” she said. She added, holding back her tears. “You must be a real monster,” attacks the shopping center.
According to Ukrainian Interior Minister Dennis Monastirski, many of the people inside immediately fled the building when the air raid siren sounded and they evacuated across the street.
He said some of the bodies of those who missed the time were unrecognizablely burned and their identity could take several days.
Officials said 18 people were killed and 59 were injured. An additional 21 people are missing, according to Monastirski.
In a statement to Irish Independent Last night, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said: “We strongly condemn Russia’s attack on the Clementug shopping center. Attacks on private citizens and private infrastructure are illegal and unjustified.
“” Russia must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and end this war of aggression immediately. “
Shopping Centre Attacks appear to form part of an aggressive Russian strategy to deliberately target civilians and civilian infrastructure. ..
Recently, Russian missiles have attacked several civilian locations hundreds of kilometers away from the main battlefields of Ukraine, including Kieu’s apartment.
The statement of the Russian Embassy in Dublin is the latest to deny a series of atrocities widely verified by EU officials and the media on the ground in Ukraine.
The Irish government has been called upon to expel Russian diplomats, including Ambassador Yuri Firatov.