The building of the Portuguese diplomatic mission in Kiev was damaged due to air defense operations

Damage to the building of the Portuguese diplomatic mission in Kiev was caused by the Ukrainian air defense forces. This was reported by the Russian Embassy in Portugal on December 21, commenting on accusations against the Russian Federation by Portuguese media in allegedly damaging the building.

"The damage to the building housing the Portuguese diplomatic mission was caused by the work of Ukraine's air defense, which has repeatedly proved its 'effectiveness,'" the diplomatic mission's Telegram channel said in a message.

The embassy noted that the incident was yet another case of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, using civilian development "as a human shield."

In addition, the diplomatic mission also called the Portuguese media reports about the involvement of the Russian army in the destruction of the building "hyping up a Russophobic background and distorting facts". The embassy emphasized that the Russian Armed Forces strikes exclusively against military targets and military industrial infrastructure.

"They bring us to a red line where we can't retreat."

At a meeting of the Defense Ministry board, Putin revealed the tactics of the West, summarized the results of special operations this year and set tasks for the next one

Earlier, on August 30, an MP of the Verkhovna Rada from the Servant of the People party, Maryana Bezuglaya, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) tried to hide the information that they themselves had mistakenly shot down their F-16 fighter jet. She noted that this was at least the third case when a Ukrainian airplane with a pilot was shot down by its own air defense. The previous two incidents were officially "blamed on the Russians," she said.

The Wall Street Journal reported the day before that an F-16 fighter jet crashed on Aug. 26, just weeks after the first U.S.-made aircraft arrived in Ukraine. The AFU General Staff later confirmed the crash of the fighter jet and the death of the pilot.

At the time, Bezuglaya said that the AFU F-16 fighter jet was shot down by friendly fire from Patriot missiles due to "discoordination between units" of the AFU. In turn, the Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the crimes of the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik, commenting on the incident with the F-16, ironically called the destruction of the aircraft using the Patriot system a worthy start.

Before that, on March 24, retired Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Marochko said that Ukraine's air defense forces had launched missile strikes on residential infrastructure in Kharkiv due to an abnormal missile malfunction. He added that representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), whose task was to conceal the "friendly" fire, went to the scene of the incident together with emergency services.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.