Russia's top army official claims Ukraine hired minors to act as victims of war: Report

As the war in eastern Europe escalates, a senior defence official of Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of hiring minors to act as victims of explosions in the embattled country. Speaking to Moscow's TASS News agency, Russian colonel-general Mikhail Mizintsev claimed that Kyiv authorities paid Ukrainian minors to "pretend dead" or be wounded by missile strikes. He also suggested that Kyiv was weaving "devious" plans to stir up the conflict and accuse Russia of killing civilians in Ukraine.

"In Odesa, the Kyiv regime is preparing another devious provocation in order to accuse Russian Armed Forces or murdering civilians (including minors) and deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure with cluster munitions, forbidden by international conventions," Mizintsev claimed, as quoted by TASS.

The Russian general went on and without tangible proof insisted that the authorities were planning to hand over $500 each to stage a "crowd scene" where the hired minors will act dead and injured in case of Russian fire. He also accused the international humanitarian organisation UNICEF of backing Ukraine in its alleged "malicious propaganda." In addition, he said as many as 20 foreign reporters and UNICEF employees were transported to Odesa between June 26-28 to participate in the "act."

"We warn the international community and international organizations in advance that this and other similar fake reports about alleged ‘Russian atrocities,’ fabricated by the Kyiv authorities with the support of Western supervisors will be widely disseminated in the media," the Russian general said as quoted by TASS.

Russia slams Ukrainian troops for allegedly killing civilians in Slavyansk

Russian Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, who is the chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center on Saturday accused Ukraine of shelling the civilian population in the Slavyansk region of Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

"In Slavyansk, Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), in order to pin the blame for extermination of the civilian population in Ukraine on Russia, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out artillery shelling of residential areas from the Slavyansk feed mill plant (on Literaturnaya Street) on June 30, 2022. A woman was killed and about 10 people were injured," he said, as quoted by Russian state-run news agency TASS.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday refuted claims tabled by Kyiv authorities about targetting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. In line with Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks, Peskov reiterated that the "Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets." This is not the first time top Kremlin officials alleged that Kyiv was carrying out false flag operations. Earlier in March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the Bucha massacre was "staged" by Ukraine to draw global sympathy.

(Image: AP)