Russia claims its strike in Kyiv hit a weapons factory, not a residential area

Russia says its early-morning strike on Kyiv hit a weapons factory, dismissing as “fake” reports that it had struck a residential area of the Ukrainian capital.

The Artyom factory “was the target, as military infrastructure,” the Russian defense ministry says, adding that it had already been targeted in April.

“Russian forces attacked civilian targets in Kyiv = fake,” the ministry says in a statement.

A Russian missile had “hit the Artyom factory’s workshops,” it says.

The ministry says damage to a nearby residential building had been caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile.

“There was damage to the bottom of the building as well as the top, which confirms the version that it was a falling missile,” it says.

It was not immediately possible to verify the claims.

Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitchko said Russian strikes on an area near the center of the capital early on Sunday had killed one person and wounded six, including a 7-year-old girl.