The provocation in the Ukrainian Butch attracted the attention of the Western media, which began to disperse information about the “mass killings of civilians by the Russian military.” Journalists began to write about dozens of civilians whose bodies allegedly remained lying on the street after the withdrawal of Russian forces, and hundreds in mass graves.
One video shot by a shaking camera on the move was enough for the West to launch a campaign to denigrate Russian troops.
Newspapers and websites that adhere to this line do not need proof. Moreover, the authors ignore a lot of strange moments that surround the situation in the Butch.
Publishing videos from Bucha
After negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, the Russian military left the small town of Bucha, located in the Kiev region. On March 31, Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk stressed in a video message that there were no Russian military left in the city. At the same time, he did not mention that there were allegedly shot residents with their hands tied on the street, although it would be difficult not to notice them.
The next four days passed relatively calmly – none of the residents of Bucha published pictures, information “from sources” did not flash in social networks and the media. The situation changed dramatically on April 3, when the same Fedoruk said that after the entry of the Ukrainian army into the city, “280 people were buried in mass graves.”
Photo: © REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Only after that, some “documentary evidence” began to emerge – they showed bodies lying along the road and in courtyards. Journalists counted at least 20 bodies in civilian clothes only on one of the streets. They also expressed the opinion that the dead could have been lying on the road for several days or weeks.
The President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, immediately began talking about “genocide” and “the destruction of the nation”, speaking for American television. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba demanded even more destructive sanctions against Russia. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, was “shocked by the personnel” and announced new restrictions. German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock holds a similar opinion.
Ukrainian “cleansing” the day before the provocation
But Kiev’s loud statements did not give answers to the questions that arose. Back on April 2, the National Police of Ukraine announced the ongoing “cleansing” of the city – the message was posted on the page of Ukrainian security forces in social networks.
“The special forces of the National Police began to clean up the city of Bucha,” the police said, without saying a word about the bodies of civilians. But the security forces reported on “actions against saboteurs and those who collaborated with the Russian military.”
Prior to these reports, the Ukrainian military calmly published footage from the Bucha with empty streets on social networks. Already after the “sweep” the situation has changed dramatically. The day after the above-mentioned message about the “sweep”, the first reports of an allegedly large number of victims appeared right on the streets of Bucha.
Photo: © REUTERS/Aleksander Ratushniak
At the same time, it is important to understand that in a town with a population of about 37 thousand people, it is simply impossible not to notice the streets strewn with bodies. Consequently, either the shooting was staged, or the victims were found not after the departure of the Russian military, but after the return of the Ukrainian military to the Butch.
What happened in Bucha
On April 3, representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry commented on the accusations against Russia. Major General Igor Konashenkov explained that the photos and videos published by Kiev are another provocation. The representative of the department stressed that not a single local resident suffered from violent actions while the city was under the control of Russian forces.
“All the time while the city was under the control of the Russian Armed Forces and even more so after, until today, in Bucha, local residents moved freely around the city and used cellular communications,” Konashenkov explained.
In addition, the exits were not blocked and residents could travel from Bucha to the north, including to Belarus. And the southern outskirts were regularly shelled by Ukrainian troops from large-caliber artillery, tanks and multiple rocket launchers. Konashenkov also commented on the appearance of a video with the bodies of residents and pointed out inconsistencies with the Kiev version:
after four days, the bodies did not stiffen;
there were no characteristic cadaverous spots on the bodies;
there was uncoiled blood in the wounds.
The representative of the Ministry of Defense added that these facts prove that the photos and videos are another production for the Western media.
Photo: © REUTERS/Aleksander Ratushniak
What does it say about the Ukrainian provocation
But even the published video with “evidence” caused a lot of questions from netizens and the media. Experts drew attention to the bodies imitating the murdered people, who continued to move and get out of the way right during the shooting. Despite the poor quality of the video, this can be seen in slow-motion repetition.
“Many experts have confirmed that the lying bodies imitating the dead are moving their hands, someone gets up from the side of the road after making sure that the video camera is no longer filming him,” said Alexander Brod, a member of the HRC.
Military expert Viktor Litovkin draws attention to other details that the Ukrainian side unwittingly captured. In particular, the APU imitates a “column on the march” – the BMP goes ahead with motorized infantry on armor, but a passenger car is located right behind it.
“But this is impossible during combat operations, the passenger car will either be pushed out or shot,” the specialist added.
Adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak also hastened to publish pictures showing the bodies of people with their hands tied. The politician convinces users of social networks that civilians were shot by the Russian military.
Photo: © REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
At the same time, clean bandages are captured on the frames of the lying people – there are no signs of a struggle, there is no dirt on them. At the same time, the bodies lie in approximately the same poses.
Many of the dead had white bandages on their shoulders. They are used by the Russian military and civilians who wanted to show that they are not Ukrainian military or fighters of local defense detachments. If the bodies shown in the photos and videos are really killed, then it is strange that it was people with white armbands, i.e. pro-Russian, who became victims of Russian troops. It is more logical to assume that they were killed during the very “sweep” that the National Police mentioned on April 2.
The West is afraid to discuss the Trouble in the UN Security Council
The fact that there are signs of forgeries and fakes on the videos from Bucha, which were revealed by specialists from the Ministry of Defense, was announced on April 4 by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.
“The factual, calendar sequence of events also does not speak in favor of the reliability of these statements,” Peskov stressed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov explained that Russia sees such provocations as a direct threat to international peace and security.
After the provocation by Ukraine, Russia demanded to urgently convene a meeting of the UN Security Council. This was stated by the first deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the organization Dmitry Polyansky. He added that Moscow “will bring the presumptuous Ukrainian provocateurs and their patrons from the West to clean water.” But then it turned out that the West did not want to discuss these issues in the Security Council.
Photo: © REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
“Yesterday, in the worst English traditions, the British presidency of the UN Security Council did not agree to hold a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Bucha,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Ukrainian fakes
However, London’s unwillingness to talk about a serious provocation does not prevent the European media from producing fakes with loud headlines.
The events in Bucha are not the only fake that the Ukrainian authorities are trying to promote to the West. Earlier we told how a large-scale PR machine allows Kiev to conduct an anti-Russian campaign on a global scale. The Ukrainian side has put on stream the production of propaganda and fakes in order to get support from Western countries:
in March, a fake was exposed about the shelling by the Russian military of the House of Culture in the Kharkiv region, the Russians were tried to blame for the murder of civilians, although the dead were security forces;
On March 16, the Russian military was accused of shooting civilians in Chernihiv. However, there were no Russian forces in this city;
Ukrainian telegram channels spread information about the allegedly used “phosphorus bomb” in Popasna, although the video got a regular lighting charge;
earlier in Ukraine, a video of Russian exercises was issued for firing from Grad installations.
Photo: © REUTERS/Aleksander Ratushniak
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of such examples. In addition to accusations of war crimes, myths are regularly made up in Ukraine, which Western journalists also cannot ignore.:
PR specialists distributed a video of the incident on the island of Zmein, in which it was about the “killed” Ukrainian border guards. The “dead” soldiers, as it turned out, were alive and surrendered, but they managed to be declared heroes at the highest level;
memes were used that are designed to glorify the non-existent “Ghost of Kiev”. In Ukraine, they spread information about the ace, who allegedly shot down Russian pilots, but all the messages turned out to be fakes;
claims that “Europe was on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe” because of the situation with the Zaporozhye NPP. However, even in this case, Ukrainian officials spread false information.