MOSCOW, July 28 (RIA Novosti) – The authenticity of satellite imagery, which the United States claims is proof of alleged cross-border Russian shelling of Ukraine, cannot be established, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“Due to the lack of precise positioning and extremely low resolution [of the images], their authenticity cannot be verified, so they cannot be used as a ‘photo proof'," said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
“It's not a secret to anyone that all such fakes are being prepared by a group of US advisers, based in the Kiev headquarters of the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine], under the guidance of [US European Command Major] General Randy Kee," the spokesman said.
The US Department of State earlier unveiled intelligence data that it claims “prove” Washington’s accusation that Russia fired at Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman dismissed the allegations as an “informational carousel” in which the authors of the “fakes” cannot be found.
Major General Konashenkov said Ukraine’s authorities have repeatedly used “similar pictures” to justify artillery shelling and use of military hardware against civilians.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in the past four months 18 international inspection teams visited the areas in Russia bordering Ukraine and found “no violations or undeclared military activity.”
The West has repeatedly accused Russia of supplying independence supporters with weapons. Moscow has rejected the claims, saying it has not supplied the militia with any weapons and there are no Russian military or special divisions in Ukraine.
Moscow has also dismissed accusations that it has interfered in Ukraine’s affairs, saying that Russia is not involved in the Ukrainian conflict. President Vladimir Putin said that before accusing Russia one has to show real evidence.
