Russia Says Report Alleging Bucha 'Falsification' to Be Distributed at Moscow Forum

Russia's Foreign Ministry says a report alleging that events in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were falsified will be distributed at the upcoming Dialogue on Fakes 4.0 forum, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted by TASS as saying the report would renew a call for the international investigative community to conduct independent investigations into the events in Bucha.

The town of Bucha, near Kyiv, became a focal point of international attention in April 2022 after Ukrainian forces recaptured the area from Russian troops. Ukrainian officials, journalists and international observers reported finding the bodies of civilians in the streets and buildings of the town, which Ukraine and Western governments attributed to Russian forces during their occupation. Russia has consistently denied responsibility for the killings and has previously described the events as staged, without providing internationally verified evidence to support that claim.

Multiple international bodies, including United Nations human rights investigators, as well as independent media organizations, have published findings attributing responsibility for the deaths in Bucha to Russian military personnel, based on forensic evidence, satellite imagery and witness testimony gathered in the aftermath of the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Details on the content of the report to be presented at the Dialogue on Fakes 4.0 forum, and the forum's exact date and location, were not immediately available from the TASS report. TASS did not specify who authored the report or what evidence it contains.

The Dialogue on Fakes forum series has previously been used by Russian officials and state media to present material disputing Western and Ukrainian accounts of the conflict, according to TASS.