MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. The Qatari embassy building in Kiev was damaged due to a malfunction of Ukraine’s air defense systems, and there were no Russian targets in the vicinity of the diplomatic mission, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry noted that Ukrainian sources are spreading misinformation, alleging that the damage to the Qatari embassy was caused by a Russian strike on January 9.

"Diplomatic missions have never been targets for the Russian army. There were no designated military objectives near the Qatari diplomatic mission, which indicates that the damage resulted from a failure of Ukraine’s air defense system," the statement said.