MOSCOW: The Russian military claimed on Tuesday that it struck a weapons depot in central Ukraine the previous day and the resulting explosions hit a closed shopping mall.

A Russian missile strike on a crowded mall in the city of Kremenchuk on Monday killed at least 18 people, Ukrainian authorities say, and Group of Seven leaders have branded the assault “a war crime”.

The strike hit “a depot with weapons and ammunition from the USA and European countries in the vicinity of the Kremenchuk automobile factory”, the Russian military said in a statement.

“The explosions of ammunition for Western weapons sparked a fire in the nearby shopping mall, which was not operational at the time.”

The Kremlin backed the Russian military’s statement, saying the defense ministry’s explanations were “exhaustive.”

“I have nothing to add,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

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