There, local media reports on civilian casualties in Bucha hastened to underscore Russia’s denial, with two prominent television reports from national CCTV this week highlighting Moscow’s baseless allegations that the situation was staged after Russian forces withdrew from the area.
In a report, an inscription quoting Russia with the words “Ukrainians directed a good show” flashed over very blurred footage of the Ukrainian city.
There is no evidence to suggest that this is the case. Satellite photos show some bodies have been there since at least March 18, while eyewitnesses say the massacre began weeks ago.
Separately, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday that the shocking photos from Bucha showed “all indications” that civilians had been “directly targeted and killed directly”. On Tuesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres added to growing international calls for a war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in the city.
War crimes charges raise the stakes on China’s position. The apparent intensification of Russian propaganda from Beijing is in line with his position since the beginning of the invasion, as he refused to condemn Russia – at home or in diplomacy – even as civilian casualties increase. Instead, Beijing has tried to present itself as a neutral actor, calling for peace while blaming the United States for the situation.
This was shown in an editorial published in the nationalist tabloid Global Times on Wednesday, which seems to question the veracity of what it calls in quotation marks the “Bucha incident” and absolves Russia of responsibility.
“Unfortunately, since the revelation of the Bucha incident, the United States, the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, has shown no signs of pushing for peace and promoting talks, but is ready to escalate tensions between Russia and Ukraine,” she said.
“No matter how the Bucha incident happened, no one can deny at least one thing: the war itself is the main culprit in the humanitarian catastrophe,” it added.
A common enemy
Growing tensions with the United States have brought Moscow and Beijing closer in recent years, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping announcing that their countries’ partnership “has no borders” just weeks before the Russian invasion.
Following Russia’s invasion, Beijing came under considerable pressure to condemn Russia’s actions and join the world in imposing sanctions. Instead, Chinese officials have refused to use the term invasion to describe Russia’s actions, and have repeatedly said they will interrupt their own path when it comes to their response.
At a special session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun acknowledged that the images of civilian deaths in Bucha were “deeply disturbing”, but when it came to blaming the situation, he called on “all parties” to ” exercise restraint and avoid baseless accusations. “
“The relevant circumstances and specific causes of the incident must be verified and established. All allegations must be based on facts,” Zhang said.
Similar comments were made at a regular briefing on Wednesday by Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, who said “humanitarian issues should not be politicized”.
“All countries must show restraint and avoid baseless accusations,” before establishing the facts, Wang said, adding that China “is ready to continue working with the international community to avoid any harm to civilians.” .
But at home, China is sending a sharper message, linking to a longer history of Russian and Chinese state media, reinforcing the other’s narratives – on issues such as attitudes toward Russian dissidents, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the origins of Covid-19. as they seek to disprove the characteristics of Western officials and the media.
As an example of such an overlap, the state-run China News Service on Tuesday published a post on the popular social media platform Weibo, similar to Twitter, with the hashtag “Russia shows video to prove Bucha incident staged”, citing a report from Russia. state news agency.
But even as China intensifies Russian rhetoric in its reporting at home, some public displays of skepticism can be seen, even in China’s highly moderated social media platforms.
In a recent example, a widely followed military blogger wrote on Sunday that Ukrainians were responsible for “slaughtering” civilians – but many users in the comments below suggested that the details of the post were wrong.
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