RUSSIA today accused Ukraine of staging new civilian deaths in a number of locations in an effort to pin the blame on Moscow.

The Russian Defence Ministry made the assertion after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded tough new sanctions on Moscow over killings in the town of Bucha that have prompted international condemnation.

It said the Ukrainian military recorded a fake video that purported to show “peaceful civilians allegedly killed by the Russian armed forces”.

The video was made in the settlement of Moshchun, 20km northwest of Kyiv, yesterday evening, and was designed to be distributed through Western media, it added.

“Similar events are now being organised by the Ukrainian special services in Sumy, Konotop and other cities,” it said, referring to cities in north-eastern Ukraine.

The ministry did not say how it obtained the information in its statement.

Over the weekend, dozens of bodies, some with their hands bound, were discovered in Bucha near Kyiv after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Ukraine has blamed Russian forces, with Zelenskyy describing the killings as “genocide” and “war crimes”.

Moscow has denied any responsibility, saying that the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after its forces pulled out of the area. – AFP, April 5, 2022.