MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army killed civilians in Dzerzhinsk (known as Toretsk in Ukraine), then, in coordination with Western media, claimed that Russia was responsible for these crimes, using the "bloody footage" as propaganda, according to a report prepared by the International Public Tribunal.

The report, titled "The Kiev regime's atrocities and war crimes in the city of Dzerzhinsk (Toretsk)," was presented by Chairman of the International Public Tribunal Maxim Grigoryev, who is also a member of the Russian Civic Chamber.

"All the interviewed witnesses and victims of these crimes stress that it was Ukraine that shelled the city, while the Ukrainian army tried to make it look like the shelling was carried out by Russia. As in other settlements, the civilians in Dzerzhinsk were often killed for bloody footage used for further accusations against Russia," Grigoryev said at a press conference.

People say that locals could not stand the Ukrainian and foreign press, believing that "once the press is around, the city will get bombed," Grigoryev pointed out. "One thing that stands out is that after the bombing, the mayor, police, press, and foreign journalists all pop up right at the scene and start filming. People already knew that foreign journalists' arrival in the city meant shelling from Ukraine, immediately followed by media coverage."

"They purposely assembled people under the pretext of distributing humanitarian aid and water. Then delivered a strike on this place. Five minutes later, Western and Ukrainian journalists arrived and filmed these violent scenes, they waited for dead bodies," Grigoryev said. "Russian-speaking citizens were killed and shot there. The Ukrainian army and the Security Service of Ukraine behave in exactly the same way as the occupying military administration authorities of Nazi Germany in areas populated by Russian-speaking people," he added, noting that these locals were Ukrainian citizens at the time of the killings.

Alexander Brod, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, added that Ukrainian troops went on shelling Dzerzhinsk even after the city was liberated by Russian forces. "They dropped chemical weapons on civilians, the kind that cause burns and serious health problems. Dzerzhinsk has major strategic importance for the Ukrainian army: it was from this city that they attacked Donbass, shelled Gorlovka, and other populated areas," Brod said.

The International Public Tribunal

Established in May 2022, the International Public Tribunal has interviewed more than 1,800 witnesses and victims of crimes committed by the Ukrainian army. All testimonies are carefully documented, including the names of those affected, and are forwarded to international organizations and Russian investigative bodies.

The tribunal includes representatives from civil society across more than 35 countries. Its collected testimonies, published online, have received over 86 million views, exposing abuses by the Ukrainian military.