Russian state media demands grotesque ‘reward’ for Ukrainian war criminals

This story has graphic description and pictures.

While most of the world gasps at the latest series of crimes committed by the invading Russian military in Ukraine, Kremlin propagandists and government officials have only doubled down. Shocking footage of the massacre that took place in the Ukrainian city of Bucha was broadcast continuously on Russian state television this week with the label “Fake” on the screens.

During the Monday broadcast of the state television program 60 minutes, host Olga Skabeeva speculates that the town was chosen for the elaborate crafting because of its name. “Biden said that Putin is a butcher. Bucha sounds like “butcher.” How could they not take advantage of such a town? She then added: “President Putin has described them all as the ‘Empire of Lies’ and this is our confirmation.”

The so-called “lies” that Skabeeva is referring to are scenes of indescribable horror when Ukrainian troops arrived in Bucha this weekend after the Russian Army withdrew from the city. Many bodies, including women and children, littered the streets and courtyards, many of them with their hands tied behind their backs and showing signs of being raped or tortured.

UKRAINE-CRISIS /

REUTERS / Marko Djurica

Russian state media make absurd claims, in part that the corpses of women and children depicted in footage from Bucha – some of which have burned to unrecognizable cinders – are “move their arms”, “get their limbs out of the way to avoid. military wheel” or even “get up and walk away”.

While the footage from Bucha caused a stir around the world, Interfax published a report on a ceremony conducted by the Russian military on 2 April in which several awards were presented to the Airborne Forces (VDV) of the Russian Federation in the Kyiv region. According to state TV channel Zvezda, that unit was engaged in “suppressing the actions of the enemy” and “carrying out the clearing of settlements” in Bucha.

“In the Kyiv region, in the area where the missions of the Airborne Forces are performed, there was an award ceremony for Russian paratrooper units. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement about the award.

On the same day, the media Ria Fan announced the names of seven Russian soldiers on the “Z Heroes” list. State TV show Vesti Nedelichaired by Dmitry Kiselyov, displays the medals awarded to the invaders: “For Courage”, “Suvorov” and “Zhukov.”

Immediately, the participants of the state television program Sunday Evening with Vladimir Soloviev jumped on the bandwagon of praise for the Russian military and called for various rewards and bonuses, from debt forgiveness to salary increases. Instead of shaming the murderers of Ukrainian civilians, Mikheyev loudly asserted: “We need to support them!” He added: “We need to give them a raise, because they are risking their lives! Their consumer debt should be written off… During the war, we need to support the Russian warrior.”

Despite ample evidence of the massacre, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that “not a single locality in Bucha” suffered any damage while the town was under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. During a meeting with United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Martin Griffiths on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called widespread evidence of Russian war crimes “a staged, staged, organized street.” being used “for anti-Russian purposes”.

On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed: “From what we have seen, the video documents cannot be trusted in many respects, because our experts from the Ministry of Defense have confirmed it. There are signs of video fraud and all sorts of forgery.” The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the videos from Bucha “are fabricated and a provocation”, claiming that Russian troops left Bucha on March 30. Despite Russia’s denials, the satellite images obtained by New York Times confirmed that the bodies of massacred civilians lay on the streets of Bucha for weeks, while the town was in full control of the Russian military.

Meanwhile, on his Sunday show, host Vladimir Soloviev angrily shouted that the West’s goal is to completely destroy Russia. He demanded: “Do not hinder the work of our Army, on all levels! Free them! ” Political scientist Sergey Mikheyev then spoke to himself about Bucha: “Maybe it was a manufacturing process, or maybe they brought the corpse from elsewhere. There’s no shortage of dead bodies over there. No problem with [getting] dead body. ”