Russia's Embassy in India has rejected the claims made by Ukraine that it was responsible for the bombing of the Kusum pharmaceutical warehouse, calling them unfounded.
While rejecting the claim, the embassy shifted the blame to Ukraine, attributing the devastation to them. It stated that "one of Ukrainian air defense missiles fell on Kusum Healthcare's warehouse, engulfing it in fire."
Contradicting the assertions made by the Ukrainian Embassy, Russia's Embassy in New Delhi stated that the Russian Armed Forces had neither attacked nor were going to attack the Kusum Healthcare warehouse in the east of Kiev on April 12, 2025. The embassy demystified, "On this day, the Russian tactical air, unmanned attack drones, and missile troops destroyed an aviation plant belonging to the Ukrainian military-industrial complex as well as infrastructure of the military airfield's, and facilities for repairing armor and assembling UAVs, altogether in totally different locations.".
The embassy continued, "The most reasonable explanation for the incident is that a Ukrainian air defense missile fell on the Kusum Healthcare warehouse and ignited the fire. Such occurrences have occurred in the past when Ukrainian air defense interceptors, not finding their target, fell in city centers due to improperly maintained electronic warfare systems."
Earlier in the week, the Ukrainian Embassy had been stridently denouncing the Russian government under Vladimir Putin as having deliberately struck the Indian pharmaceutical firm, while Moscow was taunting India of a "special friendship.".
In a statement, the Ukrainian Embassy blamed Russia as saying, "Today, a Russian missile hit the warehouse of Indian pharmaceutical firm Kusum in Ukraine. While claiming 'special friendship' with India, Moscow systematically targets Indian business — destroying children's and elderly people's medicines."
At the same time, Russian troops made a strike on Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, on Wednesday, leaving one dead and nine wounded, as the war continues to escalate in the area.
Rivalries between Russia and Ukraine have also been sparked by a recent US-facilitated deal to halt attacks on energy facilities. The two nations' Foreign Ministers traded new allegations of breaches of the tenuous accord, highlighting the challenge of arriving at a long-term solution to the conflict.
Even though a tentative 30-day ceasefire was negotiated last month in Saudi Arabia under US mediation talks, immediately confusion trailed. There was disagreement on the date for commencement of the ceasefire, and both sides accused one another of violating the deal and left the future of the truce hanging.
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