"At the moment, the Ukrainian mass media have initiated a campaign to discredit the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In particular, civilians in the city of Snigiryovka, who died from shelling by Ukrainian armed forces, are being passed off as victims of the Russian army," Barbashov said.
He emphasized that Ukrainian troops indiscriminately shelled the residents of Snigiryovka during the eight months when this territory was under the control of Russian forces.
"The Ukrainian army deliberately and purposefully killed the residents of Snigiryovka and now they are trying to pass off the victims of these shellings as victims of the Russian army," Barbashov told Sputnik.
Earlier this month, Barbashov told Sputnik that Ukrainian troops had randomly mined the territory of the Snigiryovka district, which posed severe risks for civilians, including children.
He emphasized that "indiscriminate mining" had been carried out by Ukrainian troops both in the Snigiryovka area and in parts of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.
On September 30 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.