UNITED NATIONS, May 5. /TASS/. The Western mass media have opted for using disinformation as an instrument of highlighting Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Fyodor Strzhizhovsky, adviser at Russia’s mission to the United Nations, said on Wednesday.
"First of all, I would like to draw attention of the Ukrainian representative to the fact that Russia shares the victory over fascism with all countries, whose government can cherish the memory of those killed, the people’s exploit and the lessons learnt from it," he said at e meeting of the United Nations Committee on Information. "Demolishing monuments, humiliation of veterans, nationalist marches and glorifying Nazi collaborators, [Stepan] Bandera and others - this is what is being imposed and supported by Ukrainian authorities. This is how they have been ‘honoring’ the victory over fascism."
"Hearings on security of journalists’ activities were held at the Verkhova Rada (Ukraine’s national parliament - TASS) in early November 2019," he recalled. "It was noted that around 60 journalists had been killed in the country in a period from 1993 to 2019. In 2019, more than 200 abuses of journalists were reported, including insults, illegal hindering professional activities, the use of force, damages to equipment and means of communication. Ninety-two percent of such crimes are either uninvestigated or unpunished. Only one out of 12 cases is referred to court."
The Russia diplomat called on the Ukrainian representative "to thoroughly study the statistics of the freedom of thee mass media in his country before accusing other states."
"Allegations that Russia is using disinformation as a justification of its special military operation have nothing to do with the reality. All statements by Russian state bodies, including the defense ministry, are released in due time and contain only verified information that reflects the actual situation," he stressed. "It is the Western media that have opted for the language of fakes and disinformation. Most of the fakes are refuted within several hours but they remain in the media space and mislead a large number of information users. ‘Factories’ of fakes in Ukraine are as productive as their patrons.".