Russia's Envoy to UN Refutes Series of Western Accusations of War Crimes in Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia has refuted Western accusations that Russia conducted war crimes in Ukraine, including the claims that it shelled a theatre and a mosque in Mariupol.

Mariupol, the second largest city in the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic at the time of the proclamation of its independence in 2014, has been under the control of Ukrainian forces. The city has been the site of intense fighting in recent weeks.

"The president of the fund of the mosque, Sultan Suleiman Mosque in Mariupol, refuted the fact that the Turkish mosque with 80 people was shelled by Russia from the east", Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday.

Russia has been accused by the West over the past several days of killing civilians in a number of Ukrainian cities amid the ongoing Russian special military operation. The Russian forces in Ukraine have been accused of shelling civilian objects in Mariupol as well as obstructing the evacuation of refugees from the city.

The Russian envoy called the Western allegations that Russia is forcing the people from Mariupol and other Ukrainian towns into Russia a "barefaced lie". He noted that only during the previous 24 hours alone Russia managed to ensure the evacuation of more than 31,000 civilians, including 89 foreign nationals, to the territory of the Russian Federation while some of the evacuees refused to go to Kiev-controlled territories.

Nebenzia also refuted the Western claims that Russia allegedly hit the Mariupol Drama Theatre where hundreds of civilians had sought shelter. He added that according to widely available information provided by Mariupol residents, who escaped from the city, the Ukrainian nationalist battalion Azov was using the building to cause a provocation and blame Russian forces. Moreover, the Russian military never considered the theatre as a strike target in their operations.

With respect to reports that Russian forces had killed at least ten civilians in a bread queue in Chernigov, Nebenzia noted that there are no Russian forces in the city while there are thousands of locals armed by the Ukrainian government wreaking havoc everywhere.

On 24 February, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after requests from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for help to protect them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population is not in danger. Russia has said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

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