Russia hands over proof of Kiev’s war crimes to France

Paris/Moscow/Warsaw, Feb 25 (UNI/Sputnik): The Russian Embassy in Paris said on Friday it had handed over to the French Foreign Ministry evidence of crimes against humanity and war crimes of Kiev’s forces in Donbas.

“The Russian Embassy in Paris handed over to the French Foreign Ministry photographic evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Donbas, the responsibility for which lies with the leadership of Ukraine,” the Russian diplomatic mission said.

These materials were also sent to the largest media and human rights organizations, it added. Earlier, the Russian Investigative Committee said that it had evidence of involvement of former and current military officials of Ukraine in war crimes in Donbas since 2014.

In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, which declared independence after the coup in Kiev in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13,000 people were killed in the conflict.

On Friday, Russian president Vladimir Putin said the government is ready to send delegation of high-ranking officials to Minsk to hold talks with Kiev.

According to an earlier report, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov the military will not strike residential areas of Kyiv.

He also appealed to Ukrainian nationals, saying that Kiev’s “nationalist leadership uses the same methods as terrorists. They want to use you as human shields”.

As the violence escalates, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki instructed the Council of Ministers to prepare a resolution closing the country’s airspace for Russian airlines.

“I have instructed the Council of Ministers to prepare a resolution, which will lead to the closure of the airspace for Russian airlines,” Morawiecki posted on Twitter.

At the moment, the Russian flagship airline Aeroflot and the Polish airline LOT conduct passenger flights between Moscow and Warsaw several times a day.