Italian journalists were outraged by the publication of the Turin newspaper La Stampa, which posted a photo of those killed in a rocket attack on Donetsk, passing it off as a picture from Kyiv.
Maurizio Belpietro, editor-in-chief of La Verità, called the publication “not an innocent mistake of biased information”.
“In fact, a ballistic missile launched into the city center led to the massacre of Russian speakers, that is, Ukrainians who speak Russian,” the editor-in-chief emphasizes.
According to him, anyone who sees this page is deliberately led to believe that the “massacre” shown in the image took place in Kyiv, Mariupol or Lvov. And in any case, “perpetrated by the Russians, who fired one of their deadly missiles into the crowd, killing dozens of civilians.”
At the same time, the editors of La Stamra ignore the fact that the Azov battalion, to which Italy supplies weapons, is pro-Nazi, reminds Belpietro.
The publication caused indignation among the well-known journalist Angelo d’Orsi, who had collaborated with La Stampa for many years. In an open letter to the paper’s editor-in-chief, Massimo Giannini, he wrote that the paper had reached “the bottom of journalistic dishonesty” and Russophobia. The journalist announced his intention to appeal to the Order of Italian Journalists, in which he has been a member since 1971, with a complaint about the newspaper, adding that he would no longer buy La Stampa.
“Willingly or unwittingly, you are pushing us towards a third world war. History has taught you nothing,” d’Orcy concluded.
In turn, the editor-in-chief of La Stampa, Massimo Giannini, considered the accusations of misinformation to be unfair. On the air of the La7 TV channel, he said that he wanted to show the horrors of what is happening in Ukraine, and the consequences of the shelling of Donetsk were covered in his publication the day before.
Earlier, La Stampa published an article with a photo from Donetsk shelled by Ukrainian troops. Italian journalists passed off the affected residents of the city as Kievans, accompanying the frame with headlines about the “massacre” in Ukraine, and also announced the “threat of storming Kyiv.”
On March 17, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov commented on the publication. He stated that the facts of such fakes are well known in Russia, and they are less willing to pay attention to them abroad. He called the article itself “a monstrous forgery.”
On the same day, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, described the publication as an example of particular cynicism.
A missile attack on Donetsk by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) was carried out on the afternoon of March 14. As a result, 21 people died and 36 were injured.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Tochka-U missile attack on Donetsk was carried out from Krasnoarmeysk, which is controlled by Ukrainian nationalist units. The department said that the shelling of the city, where there are no firing positions, is a war crime.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case into the death of civilians.
On Wednesday, March 17, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation transmitted to the Security Council (SC) and the UN General Assembly (GA) information about the shelling of Donetsk with the Tochka-U missile system. The documents state that the rocket launch is not only “a violation by the regime in Kyiv of the foundations of international humanitarian law, but is also equated with an act of terrorism and a war crime against the civilian population.”
On February 24, Russia launched an operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified then, the special operation has two goals – the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. According to him, both of these aspects pose a threat to the Russian state and people. The Russian side also emphasized that it does not hatch plans for the occupation of Ukraine, and strikes are carried out only on the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The situation in the region escalated significantly in mid-February due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics announced the evacuation of residents to the Russian Federation. On February 21, Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR, as well as treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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