Ukraine Prepares Provocation of Bucha Scenario in Izyum: Kremlin

19.09.2022 14:01

Ukraine Prepares Provocation of Bucha Scenario in Izyum: Kremlin
AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky

In April, Kiev organized a false-flag operation in the city of Bucha near Kiev, accusing Russia of massacring civilians. Moscow demanded an impartial investigation and stressed that all Russian troops had fully withdrawn from Bucha on March 30, adding that Ukrainian forces were shelling the city around the clock.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov lambasted Ukrainian claims of massacres in the city of Izyum in the Kharkov region, stressing that Kiev is lying in a bid to pin the blame on Russia.

"It is the same script like the one in Bucha, everything goes like that. It is a lie and we will be contending for the truth," he said.

Russian troops and militia forces withdrew from the Kharkov region earlier this month as they regrouped to concentrate on the liberation of Donbass.

On Friday, Ukrainian authorities alleged that mass burial sites were found in Izyum after Russian troops withdrew, claiming that more than 400 bodies had been found so far. The Russian Defense Ministry has warned several times that the Kiev regime supported by the western media has been preparing a Bucha-style provocations to accuse Russia of war crimes.

Russian troops withdrew from Bucha on March 30 as Ukrainian forces shelled it with artillery, tank fire and multiple launch rocket systems. After Ukrainian forces - including the neo-Nazi Azov regiment - entered the city, they did not report any casualties among locals. On April 2, Ukraine’s National Police, which also entered the town, filmed a video showing the city streets and damaged buildings.

However, several days afterward, Kiev claimed that Bucha was full of corpses, accusing Russia of war crimes and providing a video showing numerous alleged bodies lying on the streets - while the previous clip did not show any.

Crimea Issue

Peskov also refuted Ukrainian claims over Crimea, noting that Moscow is ready to respond.

"Crimea is an integral part of the Russian Federation, so any claims to Russian territory will receive a proper answer," Peskov stressed.

The statement comes after the Ukrainian presidential office claimed that people in various areas, including Crimea, should stockpile water and in general prepare for "de-occupation", as Kiev asked western countries for long-range missiles to target Russian territory.

Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014 after a referendum determined that over 96 percent of the peninsula's voters were in favor of reunification. In response, Kiev staged an energy and water blockade, trying to cut it off from its communications.

*Azov regiment is a terrorist group, banned in Russia