MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The West’s statements on the situation in Ukraine’s Bucha and their promptness leave no doubts as for who have contracted this story, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.
"I think that the very fact that these statements were made minutes after these materials were released leaves no doubts as for who has contracted this story," she said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel.
According to Zakharova, the West’s political statements came literally immediately after the materials were released, with no analysis of the situation. "There is one thing that is to be taken into account. Heads of state, foreign ministers, public figures, by the way, former politicians came out with their statements only based on the videos, seconds-long videos and several photos. And they are ready to pour accusations. No expert work done, no information from the other side throwing light on what is going on heard, and the statements made," she stressed.
The Russian defense ministry said earlier on Sunday that all Russian troops had left the city of Bucha in the Kiev region as far back as March 30 while "evidence od crimes" surfaced four days later, when Ukrainian Security Council officers arrived in the city. According to the Russian defense ministry, Bucha’s mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said in his video address on March 31 that there were no Russian troops in the city. He did not even mention about any people who were shot dead in the streets with their hands tied.
Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said earlier that Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday in light of the "flagrant provocation of Ukrainian radicals" in Bucha near Kiev. "We will unmask Ukrainian provocateurs and their Western patrons," he wrote on his Telegram channel.