From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 21, 2022
Russia claims Kyiv mall was being used to store rockets
Russia claims a shopping mall in Kyiv that was attacked and destroyed overnight killing at least eight people was used to store rocket systems.
Russia used “long-range precision-guided weaponry” to destroy a store of “multiple-launch rocket systems” and ammunition in a shopping center in Kyiv, defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov tells media.
Displaying aerial footage of the bombing, he accused Ukraine of continuing to use civilian infrastructure as a shield for artillery and rocket systems used to attack Russian troops.
A square near the mall was used to store and reload ammunition for missile systems, Konashenkov says, playing a video of a khaki military vehicle driving close to the building.
He also shows night-vision images of a huge explosion coming from the building’s roof.
???? Live monitoring and recording system shows how Ukrainian MLRS uses a shopping centre as shelter to reload missiles ➡️ https://t.co/bOqijwFjXT pic.twitter.com/UmUVUD8tuF
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) March 21, 2022
The 10-story building was hit by a powerful blast that pulverized vehicles in its car park and left a crater several meters wide.
Konashenkov says that the Russian military’s aerial footage was “absolute proof of the criminal use by the Kyiv nationalist regime of civilian buildings… as firing positions for artillery and rocket systems.”
