Russia has blamed Ukrainian forces for firing on civilians in Bucha, near Kiev, and claims that the Ukrainians are inciting the Russians by sharing recordings and photos while claiming to have withdrawn on March 30.
"All Russian units withdrew fully from Bucha as early as March 30, the day following the Russia-Ukraine face-to-face round of negotiations in Turkey," the Russian Defense Ministry stated in a statement released on Monday."People in Bucha, Kiev region, were fired at by the Ukrainian military regardless of whether or not they were armed. The most important thing was that they wore white armbands. All of the photographs and films released by the Kiev administration purporting to show Russian servicemen committing 'crimes' in Bucha, Kiev region, are nothing more than a provocation." It claimed that during the time the town was under Russian armed forces' control, not a single local person had been subjected to any violent action.
According to the Ministry, Russian personnel have delivered and distributed 452 tonnes of humanitarian aid to citizens in the Kiev region. Locals in Bucha were free to move as long as the city remained under the control of Russian armed forces
It further claimed that exits from Bucha were not closed and that local citizens were free to travel north, even to Belarus. At the same time, Ukrainian troops shelled the city's southern suburbs, including residential areas, using large-calibre artillery, tanks, and multiple launch rocket systems, according to the Ministry.
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