17 February 2022 12:56
Civilian graves in Donbass
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has called into doubt Russia’s statements about the discovery of mass graves of peaceful civilians in Donbass. According to Ms Psaki, this could be disinformation.
The following is an excerpt from the transcript of her February 16 briefing:
QUESTION: Can you comment on Russia’s investigation into claims of alleged mass graves of civilians supposedly killed by Ukrainian forces in the Russian-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine? Do you believe this is part of the false-flag operations that you’ve been warning of?
JEN PSAKI: Sure. Well, let me start by saying, as you heard the President say yesterday and Secretary Blinken earlier today: We’re in the window where we believe an attack could come at any time, and that would be preceded by a fabricated pretext that the Russians use as an excuse to launch an invasion.
And we’ve seen — and we’ve talked about this a bit in here — we’ve seen these tactics used in the past. So those could include, but not be limited to, the report you just referenced, claims of provocation in Donbass, false state media reports — which I think you should all — everybody should keep their eyes open and aware of that potential — fake videos, false accusations about chemical weapons or accounts of attacks on Russian soldiers that have not actually occurred.
So there could be a range of false flags and pretexts that we would expect would precede an invasion. And, again, we remain in that window.
The following is an excerpt from the transcript of her February 16 briefing:
QUESTION: Can you comment on Russia’s investigation into claims of alleged mass graves of civilians supposedly killed by Ukrainian forces in the Russian-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine? Do you believe this is part of the false-flag operations that you’ve been warning of?
JEN PSAKI: Sure. Well, let me start by saying, as you heard the President say yesterday and Secretary Blinken earlier today: We’re in the window where we believe an attack could come at any time, and that would be preceded by a fabricated pretext that the Russians use as an excuse to launch an invasion.
And we’ve seen — and we’ve talked about this a bit in here — we’ve seen these tactics used in the past. So those could include, but not be limited to, the report you just referenced, claims of provocation in Donbass, false state media reports — which I think you should all — everybody should keep their eyes open and aware of that potential — fake videos, false accusations about chemical weapons or accounts of attacks on Russian soldiers that have not actually occurred.
So there could be a range of false flags and pretexts that we would expect would precede an invasion. And, again, we remain in that window.
* * *
Dear Jen, you may have said this out of ignorance. This is the only explanation I can find for your doubts regarding the suffering of the people of Donbass.
Fill the gaps and look up relevant materials, request “US intelligence” data, which you so often cite.
But do not speculate so blithely about these tragic topics that you have no understanding of whatsoever.
Let me share some photographs with you. I hope they will be more convincing than the “US intelligence” reports that no one has ever seen.
This is one of many mass graves – they are called sporadic burials – of the victims of the Ukrainian aggression. According to different estimates, there could be several dozen of these. Over three hundred bodies of civilians have been exhumed. All of them are victims of the indiscriminate shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
(For reference: This is a photograph of a mass grave from the website of the Investigative Committee of Russia: https://sledcom.ru/news/item/1656580/).
Jen, these are the memorials to the victims installed in the people’s republics of Donbass, the gravestones in memory of the victims of the Ukrainian army: there are names on them. Look at the first two. They are monuments to children.
I can send more photographs. Brace yourself.
These are the photographs of mass graves of people killed by Ukraine’s National Guard. The images were published by Russian media some time ago. Look at these bodies: there are peaceful civilians from the Donetsk and Lugansk regions among them.
Thousands of eyewitness testimonies have been officially recorded. Some of these are particularly indicative, for they are about child victims. Let me quote just three.
In the evening of July 6, 2014, AFU troops opened machinegun fire on the car owned by the Mamedkhanov family in the town of Belozyorskoye. This resulted in the death of the 12-year-old daughter of Irina and Ruslan Mamedkhanov. https://russian.rt.com/ussr/article/702288-sasha-mamedhanova-ubiistvo-ukrainskii-blokpost
On August 13, 2014, Ukrainian aircraft opened fire at a children’s beach in Donbass, where families with children were sunbathing. https://russian.rt.com/ussr/article/909362-ukraina-prestupleniya-obstrel-zugres-ruban
On April 3, 2021, Ukrainian forces violated ceasefire and shelled at the outskirts of the Donetsk Region. The AFU used heavy weapons and drones against populated areas. A projectile exploded in the backyard of a rural house in the village of Aleksandrovka, killing a four-year child and wounding his 66-year-old grandmother. https://russian.rt.com/ussr/article/849921-ukraina-prestupleniya-obstrel-donetsk-malchik-babushka
Dear Jen, please don’t ever speak about geopolitics with so much arrogance, where the case in point is the deaths of peaceful civilians. They are an unhealing wound in the hearts of mothers and fathers in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. Don’t sink so low.
MARIA ZAKHAROVA
Additional materials
-
Photos
