Russian foreign minister says video with allegedly slain civilians appeared only days after withdrawal of Russian military
MOSCOW
The footage of dead civilians left behind after the Russian pullout from the Ukrainian city of Bucha constitutes a “fake news attack,” Moscow argued on Monday.
The footage of slain civilians was staged, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths.
“The other day, another fake attack was mounted in the city of Bucha in the Kyiv region after the Russian military left it in accordance with plans and achieved agreements.
“Several days later, a staged setting was organized there, which is now being promoted through all channels and social networks by Ukraine’s representatives and their Western patrons,” he said.
The Russian military left the city on March 30, and on March 31 the city’s mayor solemnly announced that everything was all right, said Lavrov. Then several days later, suddenly a performance was organized on the streets of the city in order to further anti-Russian goals, he added.
Similar attempts were seen in the coastal city of Mariupol but were quickly disproved, he argued.
Humanitarian aid
“Of course, today the international community is focused on the situation in and around Ukraine. We have been in contact with your office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs for a long time and we see how this interaction helps solve humanitarian problems faced by people in eastern Ukraine, first of all, but also in other parts of it,” Lavrov told Griffiths.
Lavrov slammed the politicization of humanitarian issues and stressed that humanitarian aid must be provided to all people who find themselves in a difficult situation.
“We do this in the most active way for the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” he said, referring to two breakaway enclaves in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, recognized only by Russia.
He added that Russia also cooperates “with our international partners, including the UN, as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross to organize humanitarian convoys to cities such as Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol.”
Moscow views the situation in Bucha as a provocation, threatening international peace and security, and will demand that the UK, which chairs the UN Security Council, hold an urgent meeting on the issue, Lavrov said.
“The chair country of the Security Council this month – the United Kingdom – has not yet been able to confirm to us yesterday the possibility of holding such a meeting, but we will require the chair country to perform its functions,” he vowed.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and Britain, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,417 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,038 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.
More than 4.17 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
