Moscow: Kyiv launched a false flag campaign in April in the nearby city of Buka to accuse Russia of killing civilians. Moscow demanded an impartial investigation and insisted that all Russian troops left Buka completely on 30 March. It was also noted that the Ukrainian army was constantly shelling the city.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Ukrainian claims of a massacre in the Kharkov region town of Izyum and insisted that Kyiv was lying in an attempt to shift the blame to Russia.
Earlier this month, Russian military and militia forces left the Kharkov region as they reorganized to focus on the liberation of the Donbass.
On Friday, Ukrainian officials claimed mass graves had been discovered in Izium following the withdrawal of Russian forces, and more than 400 bodies had been discovered so far.
The Kyiv regime, backed by Western media, is preparing a Buka-style provocation to accuse Russia of war crimes, the Russian Defense Ministry has warned repeatedly.
On 30 March, Russian troops abandoned Buka as Ukrainian forces bombarded the city with artillery, tank fire and multiple launch rocket systems. No local casualties were reported by Ukrainian forces after entering the city, including the neo-Nazi Azov regiment.
On 2 April, Ukraine's National Police, which had also entered the city, recorded a video of the streets and damaged structures. However, a few days later, Kyiv insisted that Buka was filled with corpses, accusing Russia of war crimes and provided a video purportedly showing several purported bodies lying on the streets—while the earlier clip had not.
Crimea problem
Peskov denied Ukraine's claims regarding Crimea, saying Moscow was ready to respond. The declaration follows the Ukrainian presidential office's claim that residents of several regions, including Crimea, should stockpile water and generally prepare for "de-capture", as Kyiv targeted Russian territory from Western countries. Long-range missiles were requested.
After a referendum in 2014, which found that more than 96 percent of Crimean voters supported reunification, the peninsula rejoined Russia. In retaliation, Kyiv instituted an energy and water blockade in an attempt to stop it from communicating.
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