Russia warns about preparation of new provocations in Ukraine

MOSCOW

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that new provocations are being prepared in Ukraine's Sumy region aimed at smearing the Russian Armed Forces.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said bodies of Ukrainians are being dragged into the basement of one of the residential buildings in the village of Nizhnyaya Syrovatka, which will be presented as "victims of the Russian army."

According to Mizintsev, British instructors working in Ukraine are directing the shooting.

"The script of the British ‘film directors’ suggests that the units of the Russian army killed civilians and mocked them during the withdrawal. This fake will be promoted by the Western media in the very near future. Its goal is to further escalate Russophobia against the backdrop of the rapidly developing economic crisis in Europe," he said.

Mizintsev noted that Russian servicemen left the settlement on March 20 and if something like what is being planned by Ukrainian intelligence happened, it would quickly go public.

"Please note that Russian troops withdrew from this settlement three weeks ago -- on March 20. Such events, if they really happened, could not but become public over such a long period. Moreover, the Kiev regime is looking for any reasons to accuse Russia of the genocide of Ukrainians," he said.