The Russian foreign ministry has rejected as a "crude fake" accusations by Ukraine and the West that Moscow had struck a historic monastery in the Ukrainian capital during a massive attack overnight.
The 1,000-year-old monastery was badly damaged ahead of a G7 meeting in France this week.
Russia's defence ministry said on Monday that it had not struck the Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kiev in what it described as an attack on military factories and blamed a US-made Patriot air defence missile for damaging the religious site.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine and the West of concocting what she called "another falsification" and "a crude fake" and said that the Russian defence ministry had described "what really happened."
In a statement, Zakharova also accused French President Emmanuel Macron and other European politicians of rushing to falsely condemn Moscow over the monastery damage, while keeping silent about deadly Ukrainian strikes on a student dormitory and on a museum in Crimea that destroyed an iconic work of art.
China urges dialogue
Meanwhile, China on Monday reiterated its call for dialogue and negotiations in response to the attacks.
Responding to a question from Ukraine's Ukrinform news agency about Russian strikes on Kiev, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing's position remained unchanged.
"China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. Dialogue is the only viable way out of the crisis," Lin told a regular press briefing.
Ukraine reports damage to civilian sites
Three civilians were killed and three others injured, including a one-year-old child, in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Tula region, Governor Dmitry Milyaev said.
Russia's defence ministry said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 123 Ukrainian drones across several regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Rostov, Crimea and the Moscow region.
Moscow also said it carried out a "massive strike" using long-range precision weapons and drones against Ukrainian defence-industrial facilities, military airfields and recruitment centres in Kiev, Kharkiv and Dnipro.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched more than 70 missiles and 611 drones across the country, including more than 60 missiles targeting Kiev overnight.
Ukrainian authorities reported damage to civilian and cultural sites, including the Kiev Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, the Dovzhenko Film Studio and an automated parcel-sorting terminal operated by delivery company Nova Poshta.
The Russian Defence Ministry, meanwhile, claimed the damage to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra was caused by a Ukrainian Patriot air defence missile, an assertion that could not be independently verified.
The reported casualty figures, number of missiles and drones launched, and extent of the damage on both sides could not be independently confirmed.
