Russia's ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday claimed the United States is at least partially responsible for a recent strike on a bakery in a Russian-occupied city in Donbas that resulted in the deaths of over two dozen people.
During a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that was initiated by Russia to address the strike, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington of being an accomplice in what Moscow has termed an "act of terrorism."
Nebenzia did not offer any evidence to back up his claim. When reached for comment, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek: "We hope people see this false narrative for what it is—standard Kremlin nonsense."
According to Russia's emergencies ministry, at least 28 people were killed on Saturday when a bakery in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk in Ukraine's Luhansk region of Donbas was shelled. Russian publication RTVI reported that the strike was likely carried out by Ukraine using a U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), though Newsweek couldn't independently verify which weapons were used in the attack. Kyiv officials also have not claimed responsibility for the incident.
Among those killed was Alexey Poteleshchenko, who served as the Kremlin-installed minister of emergency situations in the region. Eduard Sakhnenko, Kremlin's designated mayor of Lysychansk, also reported two municipal deputies were killed in the attack.
"If someone undertakes to argue that Western countries have nothing to do with it and that Kyiv picks its own targets for strikes, they should be reminded of the confession of Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the defense intelligence of Ukraine," Nebenzia said on Tuesday, according to Russian state-controlled media outlet RT.
Skibitsky is the deputy head of Ukraine's defense intelligence, and Nebenzia was referencing an August 2022 interview he gave to the U.K.'s Telegraph. The newspaper paraphrased Skibitsky as reportedly saying that before Ukraine launches a strike, Washington is notified first and can veto any potential attacks.
"So it is quite obvious who was involved in the Lysychansk attack," the Russian envoy said, per RT.
However, the American envoy to the U.N. pushed back on Nebenzia's characterization of the bakery incident during the U.N. Security Council meeting.
"We have seen the news reports of a strike hitting a bakery in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine with at least 28 killed on February 3," Robert Wood, U.S. deputy ambassador, said. "While we are unable to independently verify that information, the United States laments all civilian casualties and expresses its sincerest condolences to the families of any civilians killed."
Wood added: "To be clear: Russia is the only aggressor in this war and the only one that could end this war today."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
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