The objective would be to carry out a false flag operation to move global public opinion against Russia. Writes Lucas Leiroz
Once again it appears that Ukrainian forces and their allied mercenary troops are deliberately generating civilian casualties in their occupied regions. According to local sources, pro-Ukrainian forces reportedly shot at civilians in the Kharkov region. The purpose of such a crime would supposedly be to create a false flag to blame the Russians – something similar to what happened earlier in Bucha. If such reports are confirmed, this will be yet another example of criminal conduct on the part of Kiev agents.
The head of Kharkov’s civil-military administration recently told TV Rossiya-24 that pro-Ukrainian mercenaries had fired on civilians during the so-called “counter-offensive” in the last few days. In addition to killing and wounding innocents, the agents would also be filming the tragedy with the aim of spreading the videos and images on the internet claiming that the Russians would be responsible. In addition, not only murders would be being practiced by pro-Kiev mercenaries, but the cruelest possible acts of torture would also be taking place, according to local administration.
Vitaly Ganchev, head of the administration, said: “The situation is complicated and still alarming due to the fact that those people who were able to get out, say terrible things about what is now happening in Kupyansk and Veliky Burluk. It seems that mercenaries are driving around and shooting people, and all this is being filmed (…) I take it they need to clean up these towns and pretend that it were in fact Russian troops, that they tortured people, [and that is why] corpses [are] lying in the streets”.
There is still no official confirmation from other sources about these possible crimes, but images and videos are already circulating on the internet showing civilians being attacked by pro-Kiev fighters. The Russian government has not yet commented on the case, but apparently investigations are taking place. Considering the recent history of crimes committed by Zelesnky’s forces, it is very possible that this actually happened, as apparently attacking civilians is part of their praxis.
The presence of foreign mercenaries is also a fact that has been quite notorious on social media, with videos showing soldiers speaking in several different languages, mainly English. According to intelligence data reported to the Russian media agency Tass, about 2000 mercenaries took part in the confrontations in Kharkov, most of them American, British and Polish citizens, as well as from other NATO countries.
Interestingly, pro-Ukraine groups have already begun to spread misinformation about alleged massacres of civilians by Russian forces. For example, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group Information Portal published an article on 13 September titled “Bodies of more civilians murdered by the Russians found in liberated Kharkiv oblast village”. In the text, Russian soldiers are accused of having murdered civilians in the Kharkov region, but the evidence presented seems weak and unsubstantiated, sounding like mere unfounded claims.
In the same vein, CBS News had already published an article the day before entitled “Liberated Ukraine residents rejoice as Russian troops ‘running away’ from key city of Kharkiv”. Unsupported accusations are also made in this text, where the author alleges that Ukrainian civilians lived “more than half a year of hell”. Allegedly, Russian conduct towards civilians would have been rude and anti-humanitarian, with the Ukrainian “counteroffensive” being a kind of “rescue” of the citizens.
However, this narrative seems totally inconsistent with reality when we consider that 5,000 people, including civilians, were evacuated from Kharkov precisely to the Russian Federation. In all territories from which Russian troops retreat, allegations of “crimes committed by Moscow’s forces” arise immediately after the arrival of Ukrainian agents. Western media insist on the narrative that while Russians are in such areas civilians are “oppressed” and cannot report the aggressions they have suffered, but the reality is that the areas occupied by Russians are the closest to pacification. Apparently, terror and chaos are brought to these regions precisely by the arrival of Ukrainian forces.
In fact, Kiev, assisted by Western intelligence, has bet heavily on the tactic of producing false flag operations. The tragedy of Bucha and the bombings on ZNPP were the most emblematic cases, but now there are reports that something in this way is being tried in Kharkov and Izym after the “counteroffensive”. The praxis is the same: killing civilians and transferring bodies from other regions to form a “set of massacre” in front of the cameras. Thus, by releasing these images and videos on the internet, it is hoped to convince western public opinion that Russia is “cruel” and needs to be defeated. With this, Western governments gain more strength to approve packages of measures and continue NATO’s aggression against Russia and the Ukrainian people.
It remains to be seen whether Western public opinion will continue to be so easily deceived.
Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant.
