Russia says it hit defence targets, aviation bases in Ukraine

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(Reuters) – The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that its forces had carried out strikes on defence industry targets and aviation bases in Ukraine, where officials said a barrage of missiles had killed at least 29 people and hit a children’s hospital.

Moscow said its strikes were retaliation for attacks on Russia. Earlier, the governor of the Russian Belgorod region neighbouring Ukraine said one civilian had been killed and three injured after Ukrainian shells hit a village.

“This morning, in response to attempts by the Kyiv regime to damage Russian energy and economic facilities, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a group strike with long-range precision weapons against Ukrainian military industry facilities and AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) air bases”, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. The assigned objects are hit.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces fired more than 40 missiles targeting several cities and damaging infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings in the fiercest attack in months.

The Russian Defence Ministry said allegations by Kyiv that it had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure in the strike were “absolutely untrue.”

“Numerous published photos and video footage from Kyiv unequivocally confirm the fact of destruction caused by the fall of a Ukrainian air defense missile launched from an anti-aircraft missile system within the city”, the ministry said.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Philippa Fletcher)