Russia Says it Shot Down Ukrainian Missile, Fragments Injured Civilians

The Russian Defense Ministry said it downed a Ukrainian missile in Taganrog, a southern Russian city located about 24 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Russia has repeatedly blamed Kyiv for drone, missile and bomb attacks since its war with Ukraine began in February of last year, but Ukrainian officials have rarely admitted being behind those attacks.

Russia's reports Friday of the intercepted Ukrainian missile come amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing full-scale invasion of the Eastern European country, prompting a battle that has extended throughout major cities, including Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson and Bakhmut. 

Most recently, Ukraine launched its long awaited counteroffensive, which was bolstered by military aid from the West, to help the country take back its territories from Russia.

Western nations, including NATO members, continued to send tanks, advanced military equipment, and other defense resources to Ukraine since the war began. 

Russia claimed on Friday that the intercepted Ukrainian missile caused the explosion in the city, damaging buildings and injuring civilians, according to NBC News.

However, Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, blamed Moscow’s defense systems for the explosion, the Associated Press reported. 

The Messenger reached out to the media offices of the Russian and Ukrainian foreign affairs ministries to verify those claims. 

Still, Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack, according to CNN, with Russia's Defense Ministry saying that the “Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack with an anti-aircraft missile."

The ministry added that fragments fell on the city from the Ukrainian missile that was shot down.

Regional Gov. Vasily Golubev also said on Friday in a Telegram post that there was a rocket explosion in the center of the city that left four people slightly injured by broken glass.

Meanwhile, the Russian health ministry said 14 people were wounded, according to CNN.

Photos posted by Golubev on Telegram show broken windows and doors, and piles of rubble, with rescuers working at the scene. 

The Russian ministry said that it shot down another Ukrainian missile near the city of Azov which is in the Rostov region. Debris from the missile fell in an area with no civilians present.