Russian-Installed Kherson Official Calls Bucha Killings a 'Falsification'

Alexander Fomin, a legislator in the Russian-installed administration of Kherson, said the Ukrainian government has been constructing what he called "myths built on blood" since 2014, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

Fomin reportedly described the events in Bucha, a town near Kyiv where bodies of civilians were found after Russian forces withdrew in early 2022, as a falsification rather than an isolated incident, suggesting it followed a pattern of alleged fabrications by Kyiv.

TASS did not provide additional details on the specific evidence or context behind Fomin's claim in the excerpt reviewed.

The killings in Bucha have been widely attributed by Ukrainian authorities and Western governments to Russian forces, based on investigations, satellite imagery and forensic examinations conducted after Russian troops left the area in March 2022. Moscow has repeatedly denied responsibility, calling the events staged.

Fomin's position in the Russian-appointed Kherson administration reflects the broader dispute between Moscow and Kyiv over the characterization of wartime events, a contention that has persisted throughout the conflict that began in 2014 and escalated with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.