Ukraine has said hundreds of civilians have died due to shelling in non-military areas by the Russian military, a claim countered by Moscow. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered a special military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine at the request of the people of the Donbass region.
Indian journalist Rajesh Pawar, part of a team of 100 journalists from 70 countries who visited Kiev, has categorically rubbished claims made by the Ukrainian authorities about the destruction as a result of shelling by the Russian Armed Forces.
"The amount of propaganda that has been used in this conflict has never happened after the Second World War. A few days back, reports were claiming Russia had used a vacuum bomb in Ukraine, which was proven to be false", Pawar stated, while reporting live for the India Today news channel.
Pawar further explained that the Ukrainian authorities had organised a tour of Kiev in which 100 foreign journalists were included.
"Besides damage to two structures, they [were] not be able to show us collateral damage in civilian properties across Kiev. It was a pure propaganda trip to show Russia in a poor light", Pawar said, reporting from the Ukrainian capital.
He also did not find any evidence of civilian property damage during his visit to Mariupol, contradicting Western media reports about shelling in civilian areas.
For days, Ukrainian authorities have been claiming that Russian forces are not allowing civilians to flee to safer places.
Russia insists that it is not targeting civilians in the military operations that were initiated at the request of the people of Donbass.