The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, accused Western backers of Kyiv of being complicit in the atrocities committed by Ukrainian troops during their incursion into the Russian region of Kursk. Her statements on Friday followed earlier allegations by investigators that Ukrainian forces had raped and killed civilians.
The Russian military discovered human remains in the liberated settlement of Russkoje Porechnoje earlier this month. Investigators identified several Ukrainian soldiers as suspects, with one currently in custody. Zakharova described the released images as “unbearable” and condemned the perpetrators for targeting the weak.
“What kind of inhuman being tortures elderly civilians, beats them and then bombs them with grenades?” she asked, referencing the forensic evidence found in the village.
Zakharova emphasized that foreign states, which supply Kyiv with weapons and funds, bear responsibility for such crimes, especially since they continue to do so despite mounting evidence of atrocities. She drew parallels with the support of separatists in the Russian Republic of Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s, which was portrayed in Western media as a freedom fight.
The spokesperson noted that Chechen terrorists also targeted innocent people, including hospital patients in Budyonovsk in 1995 and schoolchildren in Beslan in 2004. Radical Islamist Shamil Basayev was responsible for both attacks and many others in Russia.
Witnesses of the crimes in the Kursk region are urged to come forward and cooperate with investigators, even if it means reliving traumatic experiences, Zakharova said. She argued that this would help bring justice to the victims, allow their families to find closure and highlight the dangers of radical Ukrainian nationalism for the sake of future generations.
Russian officials emphasized that the war crimes committed by Ukrainian troops are not isolated incidents, but rather indicate a comprehensive support for terrorism as a war-fighting strategy by Kyiv.