Russia: Ukraine’s claims of mass graves, war crimes nothing but lies
Russia has dismissed as “lies” claims by Ukraine that mass graves have been found near the city of Izyum after the withdrawal of Russian troops.
"These are lies," the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, adding, Moscow "will stand up for the truth in this story."
Ukrainian officials claim that around 450 bodies have been found in mass graves near Izium after Russian troops left the Kharkiv region, much of which
they jad controlled since the first weeks of their military campaign in Ukraine.
Peskov drew an analogy between the recent allegation to those made after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the town of Bucha in April. It was a town outside the capital Kiev. Ukraine claimed at that time that dozens of bodies in civilian clothing were found in the streets after Russian troops left. The Kremlin categorically rejected the Bucha accusation back then.
Moscow has twice requested an urgent session of the United Nations Security Council over the circumstances in Bucha. Britain, however, has been opposed to the meeting.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russian troops of committing war crimes in the wake of the discovery of alleged mass graves in forests near Izyum. Ukrainian officials said 99 percent of the exhumed bodies showed signs of ‘violent death.’
On February 24, Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine with the declared objective of “demilitarizing” the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, which is made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk self-proclaimed republics. In 2014, the two republics broke away from Ukraine, refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government there that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.
Announcing the operation, President Vladimir Putin said the mission was meant to defend “people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.” Since the onset of the operation, the United States and its European allies have supplied billions of dollars’ worth of weaponry to Ukraine and imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow. Russia has repeatedly warned such a behavior will only prolong the war.
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