West responsible for civilian deaths in Donbass and Ukraine – Moscow
The West should be aware of its responsibility for the deaths of civilians in both Donbass and Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
During a press briefing in Vietnam, Lavrov was asked to comment on Kiev’s allegations that Russian forces are shelling their own cities to disrupt the supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine.
“Well, in short, they lie,” the foreign minister said.
He added that the Russian Defense Ministry presents the real facts on a daily basis, and that the West should acknowledge its own responsibility, “no matter what [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and his team are saying.”
Since the launch of the military operation in Ukraine, Moscow has warned the US and its allies against “pumping up” Ukraine with weapons, saying it will only prolong the conflict and lead to serious long-term problems in the future.
Lavrov said the West “must be aware of its responsibility” for the deaths of civilians, as Kiev uses the weapons supplied from abroad as “a means of intimidation. This is state terror.”
Earlier this month, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podoliak claimed that Russian forces are shelling their own cities near the Ukrainian border in order “to accuse Ukraine of shelling Russian cities and disrupt the supply of Western weapons.”
The Western countries providing Ukraine with weapons have made it clear that the arms should not be used to conduct attacks on Russian territory.
Since the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the sides have accused each other of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine launched three Tochka-U ballistic missiles loaded with cluster munitions at the Russian city of Belgorod, killing four people.
