BELGRADE, April 29. /TASS/. The systematic violations of human rights and the attempts to close down independent media outlets, in particular in Serbia, have become a normal thing for the Ukrainian authorities, who showcase ‘European values’ in this manner, Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told TASS on Friday.
"Regrettably, the systematic violations of human rights, suppression of the dissent, rampant state propaganda and de facto liquidation of the independent media and opposition political parties happened to be the norm for the current Ukrainian authorities," he said.
"It is not surprising that the Kiev regime, a crony of Washington, has begun to impose censorship on the Serbian media as well, giving out instructions as to what, how and in what words to write. This might be what those notorious so-called ‘European values’ are all about. It is logical that this has evoked justifiable indignation among the editorial boards of some respected Serbian outlets," the diplomat concluded.
Earlier, through its embassy in Belgrade, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent out a table with ‘correct’ vocabulary, which should be used in the coverage of the Russian special military operation, to the editorial boards of local media. After receiving "a list of recommended terms for the Russian-Ukrainian war," containing a table of "correct and incorrect" words and expressions, from the Ukrainian embassy, the Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti reported that, according to Kiev’s instructions, henceforth, it was not correct to use "the Russian special military operation in Ukraine," but it should be "Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022" instead. Additionally, Kiev suggested replacing the phrase "ordinary Russians are not liable for Russia’s crimes’ with "each Russian is liable for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine" if he or she supports Moscow’s actions. The list contains a variety of similar examples.