Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the letter by the US Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights alleging that Russia is planning reprisals against undesirable persons in Ukraine following its ‘occupation’

Published by The Washington Post, the letter by the United States Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on the “first steps” to be taken by the Russian authorities after what is described as an inevitable forthcoming military invasion of Ukraine has puzzled us and made us worry for our American colleagues.

As usual, the US diplomat presents information from questionable sources as the ultimate truth by informing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that Moscow has plans in place for cleansing the occupied Ukrainian territory from resistance forces, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.

The Americans are confident that for this purpose official Moscow has already started creating lists of persons to be killed, alleging that in this context the Russian occupation forces will use targeted killings, kidnappings and forced disappearances and mass torture, as well as send people to concentration camps.

It is obvious that this letter fails to stand up to any scrutiny. In fact, it can be described as delirium bordering on insanity. Russia views this letter as Washington persisting in its policy of war propaganda and inciting ethnic and religious hatred, as well as outright incitement to strife and violence. The fact that this time the US administration chose to engage the United Nations institutions and mechanisms, making them part of their dirty games, raises special concern.

Apart from anything else, we would like to remind the United States that behaviour of this kind, I mean the propaganda of war, calling for and inciting ethnic, racial, or religious hatred are banned under international law, specifically, under Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.