Russia stated on Monday that its forces did not attack the UNESCO World Heritage Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv, claiming instead that the religious site was damaged by a misfired U.S.-made Patriot air defense missile during an overnight Russian strike on military targets in the Ukrainian capital.

The Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, caught fire overnight in what Ukrainian officials described as the heaviest Russian air attack on Kyiv in two weeks.

While Russia said its forces targeted drone manufacturing facilities, Ukraine and several Western countries accused Moscow of directly striking the historic monastery.

In a statement, Russia’s Defence Ministry firmly rejected responsibility for any damage to the religious complex.

“The armed forces of the Russian Federation do not plan or carry out strikes against civilian infrastructure,” the ministry said.

“According to confirmed reports, the complex of buildings at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was struck by a missile from the American Patriot air defence system,” it added.

The ministry suggested the missile may have malfunctioned because Western countries had supplied Ukraine with expired munitions.

“ One possible reason for the malfunction of this system could be that Western countries supplied the Kyiv regime with missiles that had expired,” the statement read.

The incident has heightened tensions around the protection of cultural and religious sites amid the ongoing conflict, with both sides trading accusations over the cause of the damage to the centuries-old monastery. (ILKHA)