DISINFO: War crimes accusations are Ukrainian propaganda against Russia
SUMMARY
Russian soldiers buried Ukrainian soldiers near Izium city already in the spring because the Ukrainian side does not agree to take the bodies. Now Ukraine presents it as a war crime. It is propaganda against Russia for the Western audience.
RESPONSE
The material and links may contain distressing/ graphic content.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative deployed in the context of the unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine, aiming to deflect attention from the actions of the Russian military.
in Izium, recently retaken by Ukraine from Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities found mass graves with more than 400 bodies. Only a part of them are Ukrainian soldiers. Most of people discovered in the mass grave are civilians.
There is evidence which supports the suspicion of war crimes. “In the first grave, there is a civilian who has a rope over her neck. So we see the traces of torture”, said Kharkiv regional prosecutor Olexander Ilyenkov. Almost all victims in the mass grave are liked to Russian aggression against Ukraine. O. Ilyenkov stated that “some of them were killed, some were tortured, some were killed by Russian Federation air and artillery strikes”.
It is not the first time Russian forces are accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine. Earlier bodies of tortured and executed civilians were found in Bucha and Irpin, cities liberated from Russian occupation in the spring.
European Union is supporting the International Criminal Court in the ongoing investigations into war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
See also EU vs Disinfo’s Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin’s War.