Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. File photoROME, Apr 4Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said that Western countries could impose new sanctions against Russia after materials from the Ukrainian city of Bucha, which the Russian Defense Ministry described as a staging and a provocation. 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. Users noticed that the «corpses» move their arms and remove their limbs so as not to fall under the wheels of military equipment. Also, in the rear-view mirror of the operator's car, one can see how one of the «dead» gets up as soon as the car passes by.
"It is clear that the events in Bucha, what we saw during these hours… rightly a wave of indignation that will lead the EU and all allied partners to new sanctions", Di Maio said on the air of the Rai3 TV channel.
According to Di Maio, Italy does not veto the fifth package of EU sanctions in connection with the events in Ukraine. What happened in Bucha are «war crimes,» the Italian minister added. Di Maio noted that the conflict in Ukraine could still escalate in its eastern regions after the redeployment of Russian troops. .jpg» />Zakharova commented on the footage from Bucha in the Ukrainian media The Russian Ministry of Defense stated 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 shelled by Ukrainian troops around the clock from large-caliber artillery, tanks and multiple launch rocket systems. Russia launched a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine on February 24. In response, the West announced new anti-Russian sanctions. They are directed primarily against the banking sector and the supply of high-tech products. Calls to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources have become louder in Europe. Many brands have announced their withdrawal from Russia. According to President Vladimir Putin, such actions by the West are, in fact, aimed at worsening the lives of millions of people. The United States and the European Union have actually declared a default on their obligations to Russia, freezing its foreign exchange reserves, and current events draw a line under the global dominance of the West both in politics and in the economy, the head of state added. The sanctions pressure on Moscow has already turned into economic problems for the US and Europe, causing a serious increase in fuel and food prices.