Russia transferred in the last few hours all its diplomatic and political power to try to prevent the massive shock that the piling of images, videos and testimonies about the massacre of civilians killed in the city of Bucha was meant for Vladimir Putin’s regime.

The counter-offensive of propaganda of Moscow is desperate and sometimes indecisive in arguments that seek to generate suspicion in a public opinion scandal by the force of evidence and in a war going on with massive relevance to the screens.

The first step of this strategy, which includes extorting possible paralysis of dialogue for a ceasefire, was taken by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who accused the US of who carried out massacres he called provocation.

The same term was used by Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, who said “there is no doubt that this is a set-up” of Westerners. And he maintained that the soldiers withdrew from Bucha on March 30 “without leaving a single body.”

However, and just minutes after that comment, the newspaper New York Times published some surprising satellite images on March 11 where it was possible to notice the presence of eleven corpses in that area, and in the first half of March, whose position coincided with photos of journalists who arrived at the area this weekend after the Russians left.

The photos will prove that the invading troops killed civilians from his arrival on the place.

The evidence

The Ukrainian army was found in Bucha a torture chamber used by Russian soldiers with the corpses of five civilians lying down and with their hands tied behind their backs. The news was reported by the UNIAN agency and detailed that Russian troops reportedly used the basement of a local children’s sanatorium called “Radiant”.

Also, the BBC posted satellite images showing a 15-meter trench at the site where a mass grave had been identified.

The photos, taken on March 31 and released by Maxar Technologies, show that the trench inside the grounds of St. Louis. Andrew’s Church at Pyervozvannoho All Saints. The society also said that, in other photos taken on March 10, excavation marks can be seen.

“We have requested an immediate Security Council meeting on the matter in question. because we interpret these provocations as a direct threat to peace and international security, ”Lavrov said during a meeting with Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The head of Russian diplomacy said that the images circulating in the international media is “another fake news attack”as reported by Russian news agency Sputnik.

Russia is resisting

Russian delegates on Monday tried to hold a Security Council meeting to denounce the “massive teasing of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha”, according to deputy permanent representative Dmitri Polianski.

But the United Kingdom, which holds the pro-tempore presidency of the main body of the UN, the call was rejected. The diplomat, Barbara Woodward, defended that her country would not allow Moscow to “abuse” its position in the Council to “advance its lies and propaganda.”

Previously, spokesman for Russia’s presidency, Dmitri Peskov, also denied his country’s military involvement in massacres not seen in Europe for decades. “We really deny all the accusations”Peskov told reporters.

He also noted that, based on the new situation that emerged after the dissemination of Bucha’s images, he had no comment on the future of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “I have no information, so far, about the future calendar of negotiations,” Peskov said, leaving in the air the suspicion of a hardening.

The challenge for the Kremlin is that there were legions of journalists covering the battle who come to Bucha among other cities where they talk to neighbors and verify information, which is consistent with those platforms.

Ambassador Nebenzya, after a long speech in which he presented alleged evidence of his condemnation of a Western set-up, said that information about the attack on a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol, in the south of the country, is also a lie. They even presented the testimony of one of the victims denied that it was attacked by Russian troops.

The campaign has had no visible impact abroad other than the Kremlin’s allies. “We want to thank Russia,” says a legend painted on a wall in Caracas by Chavista militants, who added a photo of a smiling Putin with Z carried by Russian armored vehicles attacking Ukraine.

Sources: AP, EFE, AFP and The New York Times

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