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Ukraine official’s revelations expose Kiev-staged provocation in Bucha — Russian diplomat

According to Maria Zakharova, Arakhamia claimed that it was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who prohibited Kiev from signing peace agreements with Russia following talks in Istanbul in late March 2022 and demanded that Ukraine continue military activities against Russia

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia’s "revelations" that ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson barred Kiev from signing peace accords with Russia effectively substantiate that the Bucha incident was staged by Ukraine to derail truce talks, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We have taken note of the statement that Arakhamia, head of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament - TASS), made in an interview with the 1+1 TV channel on November 25. He claimed that it was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who prohibited Kiev from signing peace agreements with Russia following talks in Istanbul in late March 2022 and demanded that Ukraine continue military activities against Russia," she said at a briefing. "Arakhamia’s revelations are strong evidence that Kiev staged the Bucha incident in order to undermine the negotiation process," Zakharova added.

Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said in April 2022 that a criminal investigation had been launched under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Public Dissemination of False Information about the Use of the Russian Armed Forces") following a Ukrainian act of provocation in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev. He noted that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had provided video footage purportedly taken in Bucha to Western media outlets, describing it as proof of mass civilian killings, in a bid to discredit the Russian Armed Forces. However, statements made by the mayor of Bucha on March 31, 2022, combined with other reports, have substantiated the fact that the Russian army pulled out of the town on March 30. Moreover, a video filmed by Ukrainians which surfaced on social media platforms immediately after the withdrawal of Russian troops made no mention at all of the alleged killing of civilians.

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Foreign policy Maria Zakharova

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