SOCHI, October 17. /TASS/. Allegations about Russia’s deploying its troops in Donbass are absolutely ungrounded, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday at a session of the first Global Forum of Young Diplomats currently underway on the sidelines of the World Festival of Youth and Students in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
"Our topic today is Fake News. The phrase ‘Russia invades Donbass’ has absolutely no evidence to ground it," she said. "Do you really think that tens of thousands of tanks were pulled there, than heavy weapons were deployed under the disguise of humanitarian convoys?"
"Dou you think that if Russia had really invaded Donbass we would be sitting here discussing anything?," she told a young man who asked a corresponding question.
The Russian side has repeatedly said that all allegations about deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine are nothing but a "propaganda fabrication."
Moscow has been stressing that up till now no one has ever given any proof to allegations about Russia’s military presence in Ukraine although Western security services are keeping a close eye on the Russia-Ukrainian border. Most of allegations about Russia’ meddling with Ukrainian affairs are based solely on internet publications that cannot be regarded as serious evidence.
On their part, Russian diplomats have been repeatedly asking their Western partners why foreign mercenaries are serving in Ukraine’s regular army.