By Kit Klarenberg
April 3, 2022 – thegrayzone.com
A key witness to the widely publicized incident at the Mariupol maternity hospital has punctured the official narrative of a Russian airstrike on the facility, and raised serious questions about Western media ethics. Meanwhile, news of a massacre in the city of Bucha contains suspicious elements.
On March 9th, shocking news of a deliberate Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, began spreading widely via social media and news outlets.
Fiery condemnation from Western officials, pundits, and journalists was immediate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, claimed the act was proof of the “genocide” Russia was perpetrating against the civilian population, and urged European leaders to condemn the “war crime” and “strengthen sanctions” to stop the Kremlin’s “evil” deeds in the country. NPR suggested the attack was part of Russia’s “terrible wartime tradition” of purposefully targeting health facilities and medics during conflicts, dating back to Chechnya.
But newly released testimony from one of the incident’s main witnesses punctures the official narrative about a targeted Russian airstrike on the hospital. The witness account indicates the hospital had been turned into a base of operations by Ukrainian military forces and was not targeted in an airstrike, as Western media claimed. Her testimony also raised serious questions about whether at least some elements of the event were staged for propaganda purposes – and with the cooperation of the Associated Press.
The new testimony (watch below) comes on the heels of evidence strongly suggesting that the destruction of a dramatic theater in Mariupol on March 16 was staged by the Azov Battalion, and that nearly all civilians had evacuated a day before. And as we will see below, new reports of a Russian massacre of scores of civilians in the town of Bucha also contain suspicious details suggesting a pattern of information manipulation aimed at triggering Western military intervention.
Full Article : thegrayzone.com
Big Serge
Twitter @witte_sergei
A few thoughts on the “Bucha Massacre”:
Russia has gone out of its way to limit civilian casualties, by declining to bombard residential areas and use strategic bombers. We also have a huge amount of footage showing Russian troops peacefully interacting with civilians.
Russia has also shipped huge amounts of food and medical aid to civilian areas under their control.
We are now asked to believe that Bucha, Russia troops massacred civilians while attempted to withdraw – a crime that would have needlessly delayed them, with no military utility.
Bucha’s mayor remained in office during Russian occupation. The town had continuous cell coverage. Yet the “massacre” was revealed only a day after the Ukrainian troops entered the town? In the era of 5G, there was no real time reporting of such a war crime?
Keeping in mind that Ukraine has made it a policy to arm civilians, making it very difficult to differentiate casualties, nothing about the story coming out of Bucha makes sense.
An army that deliberately holds back its heaviest weapons to save civilians is unlikely to waste time murdering people *one at a time* while conducting what has been a very orderly withdrawal.
I remain extremely skeptical.
I add that I have no special insight or information, simply an ability to read the contradiction between this story and the way Russia has conducted this war from start to finish.
Thank you for your well-reasoned contribution to this deceptive misinformation story from Ukraine, being spread constantly and widely here in Canada, particularly by state-broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Moon of Alabama
Twitter @MoonofA
Mar 30:
Ru troops leave Bucha
Mar 31:
Mayor of Bucha announces town ‘liberated’, makes no mention of atrocities.
https://ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3445989-bucha-liberated-from-russian-invaders-mayor.html
Apr 1/2:
Azov Nazis enter Bucha
https://nytimes.com/live/2022/04/03/world/ukraine-russia-war#scenes-of-desperation-and-death-as-the-russians-retreat-from-suburbs-outside-kyiv
Apr 3:
Ukr MinDef publishes video of ‘Russian’ atrocities
https://nytimes.com/live/2022/04/03/world/ukraine-russia-war#ukraine-accuses-russian-forces-of-executing-civilians-in-the-town-of-bucha
Russia Denies Alleged Killings of Civilians in Bucha, Kiev
The Russian authorities stated that “all photos and videos published by the Kiev regime allegedly testifying to some crimes committed by Russian servicemen in the city of Bucha are yet another fabrication”.
In line with this, the agency stated: “Of particular concern is the fact that all the bodies of the people whose pictures were published by the Kiev regime, after at least four days, do not show rigor mortis, do not have the characteristic stains of corpses, while in the wounds there is fresh blood”.
Ukraine Accuses Russia of Committing Atrocities Near Kyiv, Moscow Calls for a UN Investigation
The New York Times published photos of the Azov Battalion in the town shortly after the exit of Russian forces
Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting as shocking images emerged yesterday from the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Moscow has dismissed allegations as a provocation by Kiev. We discussed the disturbing events with Scott Ritter, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer https://twitter.com/i/status/1510889918066614280
Fake news in Kiev heralds cruel April
A Tass report says: “The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the Russian Armed Forces had left Bucha, located in the Kiev region, on March 30, while “the evidence of crimes” emerged only four days later, after Ukrainian Security Service officers had arrived in the town. The ministry stressed that on March 31, the town’s Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk had confirmed in a video address that there were no Russian troops in Bucha. However, he did not say a word about civilians shot dead on the street with their hands tied behind their backs.”