WASHINGTON, March 22. /TASS/. US media should focus on the criminal actions of the Ukrainian armed forces, which use their citizens as human shields, Russian Embassy in the United States wrote on Monday in its Telegram channel.
The diplomatic mission refuted the allegations published by US press about the creation of "filtration camps" on the territory of Mariupol.
"US media should focus on the criminal actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that use their own citizens as human shields and place heavy weapons in the residential areas of Mariupol," the mission said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had decided to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories.