Russia to reiterate request on Bucha UNSC meeting

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After the United Kingdom refused to hold a meeting at the UN Security Council to discuss Ukraine's Bucha situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on Monday that Moscow is to reiterate its request.

Yesterday, Russia requested a Security Council session tomorrow to discuss what it described as a provocation by Ukrainian extremists in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

On her Telegram channel, Zakharova wrote that "Yesterday … the British presidency of the UN Security Council did not agree to a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Bucha. Russia today will again demand the convening of the UN Security Council in connection with the criminal provocations of the Ukrainian military and radicals in this city." 

Russian Diplomat: US deliberately silent on Kiev's shelling of Bucha

Russia's Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said that with regards to the shelling of Bucha, Ukraine's authorities are shifting the blame, as the civilian casualties may have occurred as a result of an attack by Ukrainian forces.

Antonov added, in an interview with Newsweek, that the US is keeping deliberately silent on the fact that the shelling of the city happened at the hands of Ukrainian forces after the pullout of Russia's forces from the city.

The Ambassador said it's obvious that Ukraine is attempting to blame Russia for its wrongdoings, while Russia's troops had been in fact providing humanitarian support to the people of Bucha and had delivered over 450 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the city's residents. 

Moreover, none of Bucha's civilians were injured while Russian forces were in control of the city, Antonov stressed.

Ukraine published footage it claimed shows evidence of crimes committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha, a town in Kiev, and the Russian Ministry of Defense said they were yet another provocation.

"All photos and video materials published by the Kiev regime allegedly testifying to some ‘crimes’ committed by Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha, Kiev region, is another provocation," Moscow's Defense Ministry said.

"Not a single local resident has suffered from any violent actions while the Russian armed forces controlled the settlement," it added.

The Ministry also clarified that all Russian units completely withdrew from the town in which the crimes allegedly took place as early as March 30, a day ahead of the talks between Moscow and Kiev in Turkey.