Russia on Sunday said it had actually opened a criminal examination into claims that Ukrainian soldiers killed civilians in a Russian town that had been seized by Kyivs army.Ukraine has actually taken dozens of border settlements under its control in the western Russian Kursk area considering that releasing a surprise offensive there last August and states around 2,000 civilians still reside in areas under its occupation.Russia has actually gradually been pushing Ukraine back and has retaken a variety of villages.Russias Investigative Committee, which probes major criminal activities, on Sunday alleged Ukrainian troops dedicated the murder of at least seven civilians, who were sheltering in the basement of a domestic house in the village of Russkoe Porechnoye, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border.Several Russian state media outlets had overnight released a video, provided by the army, that they said showed Russian troops discovering numerous dead bodies in a dark basement.AFP might not right away validate the claims or the video, which revealed troops in a dark space moving blankets and clothes off the bodies and faces of what they said were dead civilians.There has actually been no official response from Ukraine.In a declaration, Russias Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of the cannibalistic massacre of civilians.
Both Russia and Ukraine have implicated each other of having killed and targeted civilians throughout the three-year conflict.Russian forces are accused of having actually killed hundreds of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha during a month-long occupation at the start of the conflict.AFP reporters were amongst the global reporters to witness and photo the bodies of eliminated Ukrainian civilians, consisting of some with their hands connected, in the town.The images and first-hand accounts from the town triggered outrage in the West and extensive condemnation of alleged Russian war criminal offenses.
Moscow has rejected devoting atrocities in Bucha and implicated Kyiv of staging the images a claim which has been exposed by numerous independent fact-checking organizations and media outlets, including AFP.Russias army stated it retook Russkoe Porechnoye from Ukrainian control last week.A Message from The Moscow Times: Dear readers, We are facing unmatched difficulties.
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