The United States government cynically rejects the fact of the genocide of
the Russian population in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. The
statement was made by the Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly
Antonov.
A reporter asked Antonov how he could comment on US statements that cast
doubt on the genocide of Russian citizens in the Donbass.
"This causes anger and tension. How else can one interpret the shelling of
residential areas by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using multiple rocket
launchers or mass grave sites found of nearly 300 civilians near #Lugansk,
who were killed simply because they considered Russian as their native
language. ?" said the Russian ambassador, reported by Sputnik on Thursday
night (17/2/2022).
He explained, "The United States must understand that there are millions of
Russians living in Ukraine whose interests need to be safeguarded and
protected. This is a guarantee of Ukraine's statehood and territorial
integrity."
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the atrocities against
civilians in Ukraine as genocide.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has repeatedly warned its Western partners against
supporting Kiev's efforts to sabotage the Minsk agreement in the Donbass and
resolve the crisis in Eastern Ukraine by force.
In a recent telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, Russian
President Vladimir Putin mentioned arms supplies to Ukraine, which may
prompt potential provocations by the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donbass
and Crimea.
Kiev claims not to plan any offensive operations in the Donbass and relies
solely on diplomatic tools. However, in violation of the Minsk agreement,
the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)
were fired upon by the Ukrainian army on Thursday (17/2/2022).
The attack was the most intense shooting since April 2021. Local officials
have urged international observers to record the attack and take action to
prevent aggression by Ukraine. But the call was in vain.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price accused Moscow of making "false"
claims about genocide in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for an "invasion".
The Russian invasion narrative has been actively disseminated by Western
countries over the past few months, although Russia dismisses the
accusations as nonsense.
"We urge the US State Department to stop fueling the 'militarist anger' of
journalists and focus on the truly important issue of the diplomatic
settlement of the intra-Ukrainian conflict," the Russian diplomatic mission
said Wednesday (16/2/2022).
It was the LPR and the DPR which proclaimed independence in early 2014 after
the far-right nationalist government seized power in Kiev in a US-backed
coup.
Ukraine is now starting to put together a program to reduce the country's
important Russian-speaking minority to second-class status.