Shaun
Russia has dismissed Ukraine’s accusation that a Russian missile struck the warehouse of Indian pharmaceutical company Kusum Healthcare in Kyiv last week, claiming instead that Ukrainian air defence systems were to blame for the incident.
In a statement issued by the Russian embassy in India, Moscow said that “one of Ukrainian air defence missiles fell on Kusum Healthcare’s warehouse, setting it on fire,” and denied any involvement by Russian forces.
The fire broke out at Kusum’s facility on April 12. Ukraine had alleged that a Russian missile directly hit the site and accused Moscow of “deliberately” targeting Indian businesses in the country. Kusum Healthcare, owned by Rajiv Gupta, is one of the largest pharma firms operating in Ukraine, playing a key role in supplying basic medicines across the country.
“On that day, Russian tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles and missile forces hit an aviation plant of the Ukrainian military industrial complex, the infrastructure of a military airfield and armoured vehicle repair and UAV assembly workshops at a completely different location,” the Russian embassy said.
Moscow also repeated a familiar line of criticism, accusing Ukraine of using civilians as shields.
“It has become customary for the Ukrainian military to deploy air defence systems, rocket launchers, artillery pieces and other military equipment in urban areas using civilians as a human shield,” the embassy added.
Russia insisted that its armed forces have never targeted civilian infrastructure during what it continues to call its “special military operation.”
