WASHINGTON, March 17. /TASS/. US media reports about Russia’s alleged strike at a theater in Mariupol are yet another example of a disinformation campaign, the Russian embassy in Washington said on Wednesday and called on US media to be unbiased when highlighting developments in Ukraine.

"We draw attention to the ongoing disinformation campaign in the US media about the current developments in Ukraine. Yet another example is the fake news circulated by the local press about the alleged involvement of the Russian Armed Forces in the attack on the Mariupol drama theater," the embassy wrote on its Telegram channel.

The Russian side, according to the embassy, categorically rejects these allegations. "According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, on the afternoon of March 16, Russian aviation did not carry out any tasks related to strikes on ground targets within the boundaries of Mariupol," the embassy stressed.

"There is reliable information from refugees who escaped from the city that militants of the Azov nationalist battalion held civilians as hostages in the theater building. We are sure that the bloody provocation was arranged by the radicals who blew up a mined cultural object," the embassy said.

"We urge the media to stop telling lies and start covering the events in Ukraine objectively," it stressed.

"For those who are really interested in truthful information, we recommend using Russian resources, first of all Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian Defense Ministry and of course Embassy of Russia in the USA," it added.

The Russian defense ministry on Wednesday refuted Kiev’s allegations about an airstrike on the theater building in Mariupol. "In daytime on March 16, Russian aviation carried out no missions involving strikes o ground targets within Mariupol limits. According to the verified information, militants of the Azov nationalist battalion carried out another bloody provocation by blowing up the rigged theater building," the ministry said.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country.

When clarifying the unfolding developments, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.