ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. Russia calls on Armenian lawmakers to share the list Kiev gave them of people allegedly killed in Bucha, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"We very much hope that the Armenian side, and the official Armenian delegation will share the list of such people with the Russian side," the diplomat said. "For two years, we have been unable to get anyone, including the United Nations, to give us a list of people who allegedly died there."
"We have seen how that town was visited by countless delegations from the European Union, the United States and Canada. Now, we have no contact with them at all, and therefore we cannot expect anything good or constructive from them," Zakharova said. "However, we maintain regular contact with the Armenian side. We very much hope that our Armenian friends will give us the list of people who were allegedly killed there (in Bucha - TASS)."
Bucha events
In April 2022, Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said 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 false-flag operation 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.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the Kremlin insists that the Ukrainian version of events in Bucha was disinformation and lies, noting that Kiev is not shy about twisting the facts wherever possible.