Kremlin claims footage in Ukraine's Bucha was 'ordered' to blame Russia
(Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said that footage of dead civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha had been "ordered" by the United States as part of a plot to blame Russia.
"Who are the masters of provocation? Of course the United States and NATO," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview on state television late on Sunday.
Zakharova said the immediate Western outcry over the images of dead civilians indicated the story had been part of a plan to sully Russia's reputation.
"In this case, it seems to me that the fact that these statements (about Russia) were made in the first minutes after these materials appeared leaves no doubt as to who 'ordered' this story."
Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday they were investigating possible war crimes by Russia after finding hundreds of bodies, some bound and shot at close range, strewn around towns outside the capital Kyiv after Russian troops withdrew from the area.
Taras Shapravskyi, deputy mayor of Bucha, a town around 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Kyiv city, said 50 of some 300 bodies found after the Kremlin's forces withdrew late last week were the victims of extra-judicial killings carried out by Russian troops.
Reuters reporters saw one man sprawled by the roadside, his hands tied behind his back and a bullet wound to his head, though Reuters could not independently verify those figures or who was responsible for the killings.
Pictures of the destruction and apparent killings of civilians sparked shock and condemnation and looked set to galvanise the United States and Europe into fresh sanctions against Moscow, but it was not clear how quickly a new package could come together or if it would included Russian energy exports.
Russian authorities have said the photographs and footage broadcast from Bucha are a "provocation" designed to disrupt peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. The Russian defence ministry said the images were "another staged performance by the Kyiv regime."
Footage and photographs of dead civilians strewn across the town have prompted Western countries to call for those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine to be punished.
The atrocities were also set to overshadow peace talks between Russia and Ukraine due to restart by video link on Monday.
Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would be held accountable for the civilian killings , Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said others also shared the blame.
"I think all the military commanders, everyone who gave instructions and orders should be punished," he told CBS' "Face the Nation" news program.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images as "a punch in the gut," while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation.
"Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that Western allies would agree on further sanctions in the coming days.
Germany's Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union must discuss banning the import of Russian gas - a departure from Berlin's prior resistance to that idea.
French President Emmanuel Macron said there were very "clear clues pointing to war crimes" by Russian forces and that new sanctions was needed, and Japan said it would consult with allies on that issue. Macron said new sanctions should include oil and coal.
The U.N. Security Council will discuss Ukraine on Tuesday and will not meet on Monday as requested by Russia, said Britain's mission to the United Nations, which holds the presidency of the 15-member council for April.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbour's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.
Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.
