Russia has claimed a savage assault on a maternity hospital was ‘staged’ by Ukraine.
The defence ministry has denied responsibility for striking the facility in the city of Mariupol yesterday.
Ukrainian officials said that Wednesday’s Russian air strike on the hospital killed three people, including a child, and wounded 17 others.
The attack has been condemned by leaders around the world with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky describing it as an ‘atrocity’ while Boris Johnson called it ‘depraved’.
Russian claims the attack was ‘staged’ come just hours after it dismissed reports of the atrocity as ‘fake news’.
Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov claimed that the two explosions that ravaged the building were caused by devices planted nearby.
He described it as a ‘staged provocation to incite anti-Russian agitation in the West’.
It comes after the Kremlin insisted the building, which was wiped out by the shelling which took place during an agreed ceasefire – was seized by Ukrainian troops.
Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Dmitry Polyanskiy, cited reports suggesting ‘Ukraine’s armed forces kicked out personnel…and set up a firing site within the facility.’
He posted: ‘That’s how fake news is born. We warned in our statement back on 7 March that this hospital has been turned into a military object by radicals.’
And he criticised the UN for ‘spreading information without verification.’
Russia’s foreign secretary Sergey Lavrov has also commented on the incident saying Western media reports were ‘very emotional’ and did not offer a chance to ‘draw an objective conclusion.’
Mr Lavrov told a news conference: ‘It’s not the first time we see pathetic outcries concerning the so-called atrocities perpetrated by the Russian military.
‘You can draw your own conclusions as to how the public opinion is manipulated worldwide.’
The Twitter account of Russia’s embassy in the UK has been censored after pushing false claims the incident was contrived by Kyiv.
The embassy, attributing remarks to Mr Lavrov, suggested the hospital had been ‘long non-operational’ and was being used by Ukrainian armed forces and ‘radicals’.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries retweeted the message and said: ‘This is fake news.’
The tweet was reported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and has since been removed and replaced with a note saying: ‘This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.’
Twitter said the tweet was in violation specifically of its hateful conduct and abusive behaviour policies relating to the denial of violent events.
The Russian Embassy UK account is verified with a blue tick and has more than 150,000 followers.
Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun, deputy leader of the Holos Party, said: ‘It’s not just some random or unknown account on Twitter. It’s an account of an official organisation, which is the embassy of the Russian Federation.
‘So that is something that Twitter can follow up upon, I believe.
‘I do think that Twitter at least should take care of the official accounts, like embassies and so on.
‘Or just take them down, frankly speaking that would do the job as well, it’s easier just to take them down completely, than try to, you know, follow up on every single tweet, because they’re lying to us all the time.’
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.
Over two million Ukrainian refugees have fled, as cities face shortages of food, water, heat, and medicine – with some having to resort to melting snow for water.
Countries have retaliated by imposing sanctions on Russia and oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich, while large companies like Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola have suspended business in the country.
However, despite these economic blows, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon.
- Putin ‘plotting to unleash utterly horrific chemical weapons attack’
- Three dead including child after Putin bombed hospital while women gave birth
- Russia admits using ‘devastating’ thermobaric vacuum bombs in Ukraine
- President Zelensky has survived ‘more than a dozen’ assassination attempts
- Which companies are pulling out of Russia?
- How to sponsor a Ukrainian refugee or family
- Map reveals where Ukraine’s 2,000,000 refugees have fled to
- Liz Truss compares Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine to 9/11 terror attacks
- What does Z mean for Russia?
This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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