Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov has denied that Russian soldiers committed war crimes in occupied areas outside Kyiv and that the killings and torture seen are nothing more than a Ukrainian staged provocation.
His statements come despite overwhelming and emerging evidence of the widespread killing of civilians.
Lavrov has now called for a meeting at the United Nations Security Council to show the 'true nature' of what happened at towns such as Bucha, where over 300 civilians have been found dead.
Russia's envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, followed suit, saying:
"We have empirical evidence to support this. We intend to submit them to the Security Council as soon as possible so that the international community is not misled by the false plot of Kyiv and its Western sponsors."
Others to continue the bizarre denial of the killings, many of which were caught on camera, included Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, who denied the killings, saying:
"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."
Adding:
"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."
In the town of Bucha, a 45-foot mass-grave has been discovered near a church and bodies lay strewn in the street as Ukrainian forces retook the city. Many of those who lived there told of brutal repression and indiscriminate killings by the Russians, who have now retreated into Belarus.
US President Biden said on Monday that those responsible for these actions should face a war crimes trial.
[Based on reporting by: The Daily Mail]
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