Russia targets its own civilians in Kursk to blame Ukraine — Ukraine's MFA

This was stated by the spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhiy Tykhyi, during a briefing on March 21, as reported by Ukrinform.

Commenting on the shelling of the Sudzha gas measurement station, the spokesperson urged international partners not to fall for Russian manipulation.

"As for the various accusations from the Russian side against Ukraine regarding 'atrocities' and 'crimes' in the Kursk region, these accusations are completely baseless. Ukraine always adheres to international humanitarian law, including humane treatment of civilians in conflict zones, and does not violate these rules," Tykhyi said.

At the same time, he pointed out that Russia frequently targets its own civilian population with shelling in order to blame Ukraine for the attacks.

"We understand and have seen how, during this particular operation, Russia repeatedly, in our opinion, deliberately shelled its civilian population, various villages, in order to accuse Ukraine of crimes. This policy has been ongoing for decades... These are all fakes, and today the world does not believe them — they know the value of Russian disinformation," said the MFA spokesperson.

• On March 14, Trump published a post in which he stated that he had “strongly requested” to President Putin that Ukrainian soldiers’ lives “be spared.”
• In response, Putin called on Ukrainians fighting in the Kursk region to surrender to Russian captivity.