Russia warns of Ukraine 'staging fresh provocations' similar to Bucha killings in Kharkiv

Russia's Ministry of Defense on Wednesday warned that Ukrainian Armed Forces are "preparing to stage" provocations similar to the Bucha civilian killings. In a press briefing on April 6, Wednesday, the Defense Ministry of the Russia Federation claimed that it has intelligence that in the city of Pervomaisky, Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian special services SBU “is preparing a major provocation using poisonous substances.” It further claimed that Ukraine’s SBU officers mined a storage facility with 120 tons of chlorine on the territory of the Khimprom. They plan to “blow up” this repository to later blame the atrocities on Russian troops, accusing Kremlin of a “chemical disaster that caused the death of local residents.” 

Kremlin denies committing any war crime in northwest town of Bucha

Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement comes after its constant denial of committing any war crime in the northwest town of Bucha. Ukraine alleged that Russian troops carried out a brutal massacre in the town near Irpin as shocking images depicting corpses strewn across the streets shocked the world. Russia meanwhile claimed that the corpses in civilian clothing were staged by Ukraine and are “fakes”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in a statement to the Russian state-affiliated media rejected allegations, saying that the chronology of the events in Bucha did not match with Ukraine’s version. He also accused Ukrainian “Nazis” of targeting the civilians to slander the Russian forces. 

“Experts at the Ministry of Defence have identified signs of video fakes and various fakes”, Peskov said. “We would demand that many international leaders do not rush to sweeping accusations and at least listen to our arguments,” he furthermore added. 

Kremlin also demanded a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the alleged “Ukrainian provocations” against Russia. Of the world leaders condemning the Bucha atrocities, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki launched the most hardened stance against the Russian regime, calling the civilian killing “genocide.” The Polish president labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin as “Hitler” and condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for negotiating talks.

“Nobody negotiated with Hitler. Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot,” he said. “How many times have you negotiated with Putin and what have you achieved? We do not discuss, we do not negotiate with criminals. Criminals have to be fought against” he asked French President Macron. “Clear and determined sanctions are necessary. These sanctions are not working,” Morawiecki said.