The ambassador of Russia to the United Kingdom referred to the Ukrainians killed in Moscow’s missile attack on a crowded shopping center as “collateral damage.”
The attack, which killed 18 people in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday, shook the world and was condemned as a war crime and terrorist attack by Ukrainian leaders.
Ambassador Andrei Kelin echoed the assertion made by Russian authorities that the shopping center was not the intended target.
As stated by the [Russian] Ministry of Defense, we only targeted military infrastructure, he told Channel 4 News.
“This was the case because the attack was launched against a factory containing a large number of weapons imported from the United States and Europe; this was the intended target of the attack.
“Unfortunately, a detonation occurred, and the fire quickly spread to the nearby shopping mall, which has been vacant and non-functional since March of this year.”
He asserted that there was “no crowd” in the shopping center, but conceded that “some people probably” perished in the vicinity.
“Yes, it is a tragic occurrence. “Regrettably, collateral damage occurs,” he stated.
The attack occurred as Russia intensified its bombardment of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.
As the summit in Germany came to a close, Boris Johnson and other G7 leaders condemned Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and the attack in Kremenchuk.
The prime minister described the act as “complete barbarism.”
“People are simply shocked by Putin’s capabilities,” he said.
Mr. Kelin also attributed the escalation of the conflict to the provision of weapons by Western nations to Kiev.
He added, “Yes, I am very concerned about the outcome.” But I am most concerned about those calls to continue the conflict… Sending increasing quantities of weapons of increasing quality, such as international weapons and modern rockets.
It increases the intensity of the conflict. It is an escalation, and it is disastrous for Ukraine.”
He denied that Russia could expand its westward targets.
