ZAKHAROVA: BRITISH MEDIA FABRICATED THE BUCHA CASE

MOSCOW, SEPTEMBER 17 /SRNA/ - Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that British media outlets and television channels orchestrated global coverage of the fabricated scenario surrounding Bucha.

She noted that Britain was the "conductor" of the orchestra, or group of conspirators, who had an interest in thwarting the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul and the agreements reached by the two sides.

"In fact, that is exactly what happened," Zakharova said at a news conference devoted to the presentation of a report by the International Public Tribunal on the crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, which exposes the falsification of events in Bucha.

In this regard, Zakharova stressed that, to convince ordinary people, political scientists, experts and, of course, journalists — who were supposed to convey the message to the widest possible audience — that the suspension of the talks was literally necessary, a small town on the outskirts of Kyiv called Bucha was chosen, where "dozens of bodies suddenly appeared."

"They appeared at the very moment when the media showed them. They were not reported by local residents who had failed to find their neighbors, friends and relatives at home, nor had they received any messages from them. Nothing of the sort. That never happened. That information first emerged precisely through the media," Zakharova stressed.

She added that British journalists were among the first to focus on the issue and began to exaggerate it, particularly those from the BBC, and, of course, to blame Russia.

Zakharova also accused UN Secretary-General António Guterres of taking part in a conspiracy aimed at blaming Russia for the killings committed in Bucha.

"Guterres — and I can officially state this — knowingly joined the anti-Russian campaign," she stressed, adding that this constituted a "violation of the principle of neutrality, which is essential for the UN's chief administrative official."

According to her, he violated that principle and became fully involved in this provocation.

On March 30, 2022, Russia withdrew from the city of Bucha and the area around Kyiv as a gesture of goodwill during talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, and the head of the local administration confirmed this on camera the following day, TASS reported.

Several days later, a Western television broadcaster aired footage showing bodies lying in the streets, unlike in earlier footage. In this regard, Russia launched criminal proceedings over the dissemination of false information about the Russian military.