Russia accuses West of turning blind eye to what it calls ‘genocide’ in eastern Ukraine
- Russian embassy in China releases statement listing what it describes as ‘evidence of crimes’ in Luhansk and Donetsk
- President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the two regions on Thursday, after earlier declaring them ‘independent states’
That included shelling of peaceful settlements, cutting off of power and water supplies and the blocking of access to food and medicine for settlers, the embassy said.
It said the humanitarian situation in the two regions “remains difficult”, as people in the settlements had their water supply cut off by the Ukrainian side.
“By its actions, the West is pursuing not only genocide, but also a policy of discrimination on the right to be heard. Only the Ukrainian side has the right to be heard,” the statement said.
“Residents of Donbas, according to the West, are non-humans who constantly lie and slander the Ukrainian government. Where is democracy and human rights?”
Georgy Egorov, a press officer with the Russian embassy in China, said the statement was released because “some politicians of the Western countries deny these facts and even smear Russia when we called it a genocide”.