Ukrainian military in the city of BuchaNEW YORK, Apr 7 People in the city of Bucha near Kiev died at the hands of the Ukrainian military, Scott Ritter, an American military analyst and former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, said. He cited Russian military statements that they occupied Bucha for several weeks and had good relations with the local population.
"They had a kind of barter: they exchanged their dry rations for food. The inhabitants of Bucha gave them eggs, milk, cheese, and the Russians gave their dry rations, flour, salt, sugar, meat. Then the Russians left. Everyone who was involved in such interaction with the Russians was now considered a collaborator", Ritter said during a webinar on events in Ukraine.
“We know this because the Ukrainian National Police published an announcement that they are heading to Bucha on April 1 to purge and eliminate collaborators,” he added. According to the analyst, this is completely contrary to the Russian approach, which is to treat to all residents of Ukraine with respect, try not to harm civilians.Zakharova accused Western journalists of complicity in crimes in Bucha «Ukraine says: if you cooperate with the Russians, you will die. They have a video of a high-ranking political representative who announced on social networks to the residents of Bucha: «Stay in the houses, the national police are cleaning. Don't panic, stay at home,» Ritter continued. In his opinion, Ukrainian punishers shot at people on the streets, knocked on the door of those who collaborated with the Russian military, and killed them.
"We have a video where the Ukrainian police, namely the group "Azov"*, proudly declare that they are going on a safari. The name of the Ukrainian special police unit that entered Bucha was "Safari". And they were on safaris to purge pro-Russian collaborators. Purge means to kill. Not to seize, but to kill. And they do it. And then they go around and take off the corpses and say that the Russians did it", — Ritter expressed the opinion.
He also noticed that most of the lying bodies in the video from Bucha with white bandages on their sleeves, «which means what they said to the Russians: we are on your side, don't kill us.» The analyst also stated that «next to each body is a green box from the dry rations they were carrying when they were killed.»The Ministry of Defense said that Ukraine had prepared new provocations like Bucha «In the case when they (the lying bodies on the video) do not have a white bandage, then they do not have it, because they tied their hands behind their backs with it. These people were killed. Not by Russians , but by Ukrainians. But this is not the thesis that is being promoted here (in the USA). The opposite is being claimed here,» Ritter said. The expert also pointed out that the bodies in the video do not look like they have lain since the Russian troops left. «What you saw on TV is people who have just been killed. And we have more evidence — a Mexican journalist got into Bucha on the same day that the Ukrainians announced it. And he took off the bodies. Fresh blood. He said that these people were killed recently,” Ritter said. “These people were killed on April 1 by the Ukrainian national police. And then the US president comes out and says this is a war crime committed by the Russians and Vladimir Putin should be held accountable in The Hague. This is war propaganda, unlike anything we have seen in our time,» he concluded. Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities and the media distributed a video allegedly filmed in the city of Bucha, Kiev region, where the bodies of the dead lie on the road. Many Internet users questioned the credibility of Kyiv's accusations against Moscow, noting that there was no blood near the bodies on the ground, and some of the dead had white armbands on their sleeves and could have been killed by Ukrainian security forces or territorial defense. Users also noticed that the «dead» move their hands, and when looking in the rear-view mirror of the operator's car, it seems that one of the «dead» changes position as soon as the car passes by.
The Foreign Ministry urged to look into the presence of Western intelligence services in BuchaThe Russian Defense Ministry said that all photographs and video materials published by the Kiev regime, allegedly testifying to some kind of «crimes» by Russian military personnel in the city of Bucha, Kiev region, are «another provocation.» As noted in the military department, during the time this settlement was under the control of the Russian Armed Forces, not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions. The ministry noted that all Russian units completely left Bucha on March 30, and exits from the city in the northern direction were not blocked, while the southern outskirts, including residential areas, were fired around the clock by Ukrainian troops from large-caliber artillery, tanks and multiple launch rocket systems. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia categorically rejects any allegations of involvement in the deaths in Bucha and requires international leaders not to rush to sweeping accusations against her, but to listen to Moscow's arguments. According to him, Russian diplomats will continue to promote the topic of the provocation in Bucha on the agenda of the UN Security Council.* A criminal case has been opened against the fighters of the battalion in Russia. Putin discussed provocation in Bucha with Orban