MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) – The West’s denial of humanitarian problems in Ukraine reflects its double standards, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.
“The Russian draft [resolution] does not have a confrontational character and aims only at humanitarian goals. However, this document has caused a negative reaction among the western members of the UN Security Council [who said] there were no humanitarian problems in eastern Ukraine,” Lukashevich said.
Earlier in the day, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev bashed Kiev for turning a blind eye to the looming humanitarian crisis in violence-struck Ukraine, which is in the second month of a massive military crackdown on independence forces in its southeast.
Medvedev accused the G7 group of nations of being cynical in their attitudes to the punitive operation in eastern Ukraine.
The respective leaders of the G7 nations released a joint communique on Wednesday encouraging the Ukrainian authorities to maintain “a measured approach in pursuing operations to restore law and order” in Ukraine’s southeast.
In mid-April, Kiev authorities started a special military operation in eastern Ukraine to suppress pro-independence protests, with most clashes breaking out in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Petro Poroshenko, who won a snap May 25 presidential election, urged law enforcement agencies to complete the “purging” of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions before his inauguration on June 7.
Moscow has repeatedly urged Kiev to stop the punitive operation, which has already led to dozens of casualties.
