A Russian state TV talk show star has claimed the killings carried out in war-torn Bucha were part of a 'provocation plotted by Britain' as horrifying images emerge from the devastated Ukrainian town.
Speaking in a broadcast last night, Vladimir Soloviev, a prominent pro-Putin personality who supports the invasion, added: 'The war against Russia entered a new phase today. Very soon we will be blamed of genocide.'
He alleged the plot was masterminded by Britain as he praised the 'true patriots' in Donbas as other sources have accused Kyiv of staging the horrifying scenes in Bucha.
Soloviev also brought up allegations of Russian troops raping young women in front of their families, at one point saying he 'doesn't even want to comment' on the topic.
t comes as the Russian defence ministry rejected the allegations and claimed that 'not a single civilian suffered from violence when the town was controlled by the Russian Armed Forces'.
Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said: 'I would like to point out that Russian troops left Bucha on March 30.
'The Ukrainian authorities remained silent all these days, and now they have suddenly posted sensational footage in order to tarnish Russia's image and make Russia defend itself.
'I would like to emphasise with full responsibility that not a single civilian suffered from violence when the town was controlled by the Russian Armed Forces.
'On the contrary, our troops delivered 452 tonnes of humanitarian aid for civilians.
'Meanwhile, the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the town of Bucha right after Russian troops had left was deliberately ignored in the US.
'This is what could have caused civilian casualties. That said, the Kyiv regime is clearly trying to blame its atrocities on Russia.'
Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament, said: 'There are no doubts that it is a staging organised by Kyiv authorities.
'And the fact that the West has picked it up and is hyping it makes it an accomplice of this cynical and immoral crime.'
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Kyiv colluded with the West in seeking to blame Russia.
'I think that the very fact that these statements were made minutes after these materials were released leaves no doubts as for who has contracted this story,' she told state-run Rossiya-1 television channel.
She claimed the West decided immediately Russia was to blame 'based on the videos, seconds-long videos and several photos. And they are ready to pour accusations.
'No expert work done, no information from the other side throwing light on what is going on...'
She also alleged the massacres were 'a provocation staged by the Ukrainian military and radical nationalists' to disrupt peace talks.
Meanwhile the Telegram channel War on Fakes, which has been accused of spreading misinformation about the invasion, shared posts discrediting the atrocities pictured and filmed in Bucha and said it was part of a 'planned media campaign'.
One post said: 'Fake: The Russian military left Bucha, having previously left huge casualties among the civilian population.
'Truth: Notes about Bucha appeared in several foreign publications at once - it looks like a planned media campaign.
'Given that the troops left the city on March 30, where were these footage for 4 days? Their absence only confirms the fake.
'The video with the bodies is puzzling: here, at 12 seconds, the "corpse" on the right moves its hand.
'At 30 seconds in the rearview mirror, the "corpse" sits down. The bodies in the video seem to have been deliberately laid out in order to create a more dramatic picture.'
'This is clearly seen if you play video at a speed of 0.25 of normal.'
This was shared by the Russian Ministry of Defence Telegram channel.
Meanwhile the Kremlin today said that it categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, adding that Ukrainian allegations on the matter should be treated with doubt.
Yesterday Ukrainian authorities said they were investigating possible crimes by Russian forces after finding hundreds of bodies strewn around towns outside Kyiv following Russian withdrawal from the area.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.
'Meanwhile, the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the town of Bucha right after Russian troops had left was deliberately ignored in the US.
'This is what could have caused civilian casualties. That said, the Kyiv regime is clearly trying to blame its atrocities on Russia.'
Yeah, except for the fact that the victims had their hands tied behind their backs, raped, tortured, and were shot in the back of their heads execution style the sick butchering bastards. The Kremlin can propagandize all they want in an attempt to control their people, but one thing they can't do is control the Internet.
They're blaming the Brits. They're blaming the U.S.
They're after war with NATO is what they are. They want to see NATO crack over this re: Hungary's Viktor Orban. Maybe it's time for NATO to grow a pair, slip those Mig-29's over the border to Ukraine, and get after it.
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
I doubt it. They want to see NATO back off and leave them to do what they want in Ukraine. They thought threats might do it, but that has not worked. Now I think they are hoping NATO will get tired, or bored, or just think it is all too expensive.
I suspect that none of those will (this time at least) produce the effect they desire.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.
I doubt it. They want to see NATO back off and leave them to do what they want in Ukraine. They thought threats might do it, but that has not worked. Now I think they are hoping NATO will get tired, or bored, or just think it is all too expensive.
I suspect that none of those will (this time at least) produce the effect they desire.
Are you saying that they don't want to divide, weaken, and destroy NATO?
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
Maybe it's time for NATO to grow a pair, slip those Mig-29's over the border to Ukraine, and get after it.
And start World War III?
You mean risk starting WW3 don't you? What is the difference between equipping the Ukraine army with air defense weapons that we already are and equipping them with the Mig-29's?
Explain that to me.
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
Maybe it's time for NATO to grow a pair, slip those Mig-29's over the border to Ukraine, and get after it.
And start World War III?
Before World War II broke out in Europe in 1939 as a result of Hitler's invasion of Poland, several years passed during which he tested the powers that had won WWI (then called The Great War) to see how far he could go without any firm action being taken against him. In 1936 he marched his army into the Rhineland, which was supposed to be a demilitarised zone under the treaty that had ended WWI. He got away with it, because France and Britain wanted to avoid a military conflict. In 1938 he annexed the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, to 'liberate' the German speaking population there (sound familiar?) and then went on to occupy the entire country in order to 'protect' it. Again, no response. Very much to his surprise and delight. But no-one wanted to risk Great War II.
So his confidence grew, and then he invaded Poland. Finally we had Great War II = WWII.
The idea that the best way not to have a war with Putin is to place nicely-nicely is as illusory as it was in the case of Hitler.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.
The Russian story line would seem to be contradicted by satellite images. It's harder to get away with big lies these days.
You can still say the satellite images were faked, of course. But nobody who isn't already committed to believing the Russian government is going to think that American analysts would cover up evidence of murderous Ukrainian staging just to make relations with Moscow even harder. Any neutral observers are going to have an easier time deciding who is lying than they once would have had.
Conversely it's going to count for something that the Russians didn't start their "No, they did it!" story by showing their own satellite images. If the Ukrainians really had done all the massacring, the Russians would have been showing lots of satellite pictures to prove it. The fact that they didn't even try to make some fake satellite images to support their claims would seem to confirm that they're in the kind of incompetent panic that perpetrates war crimes for which there isn't even any conceivable purpose.
[The Russians are] in the kind of incompetent panic that perpetrates war crimes for which there isn't even any conceivable purpose.
War crimes of the kind we have here seem to me not to be so much signs of a formidable Russian army committed to the ruthless pursuit of frightening aims, but a further sign, if we needed it, of an army that is badly led and has low morale.
In a well-trained and effectively officered army, soldiers are not let loose on the civil population to murder and rape people. Why? Because such behaviour is not generally useful in achieving military objectives, and tends to reduce the morale and efficiency of a unit. Good officers at the platoon and company levels don't let this kind of thing happen. But the poor combat performance of the Russian infantry strongly suggests that it does not have good officers at that level. These are badly led, resentful and frightened conscripts, and this kind of behaviour is what you get when that is the case.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Mayan Elephant:
Not only have I denounced the Big Lie, I have denounced the Big lie big lie.
