New Delhi: Russia has dismissed as “absolutely false and inadmissible” any speculation that its soldiers might face a Nuremberg-like trial, the country’s news agency TASS reported Thursday.
The Russian embassy wrote on Telegram: “We think any speculation about organising a ‘new Nuremberg Trial’ against Russian soldiers allegedly responsible for crimes in Ukraine are inadmissible.”
The Nuremeberg Trials were held by the Allied forces against members of the defeated Nazi army for committing crimes during World War II.
Accusing the West of “propagating misanthropic ideas”, the embassy said it was defending civilians in Donbass (Ukraine) from the Nazis. The embassy said these “Nazis” were openly supported by the United States and a range of European nations.
The embassy accused the United States of stymying its initiatives on “fighting Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices promoting escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance”.
It added: “In the current Russophobic atmosphere, the so-called human rights activists are only serving the interests of the local ruling class. That is why they are disseminating fakes about the use of cluster bombs against civilians in Kharkov by Russian soldiers and at the same time are ignoring bombardments of dwelling quarters in Donetsk by Ukrainian nationalists who are using Western weapons.”
Separately, Chinese premier Xi Jinping called Vladimir Putin Wednesday and reiterated his support for Russia’s “sovereignty and security”.
The two leaders stressed their relationship were at an all-time high and reiterated their pledge to “consistently deepen the comprehensive partnership”, according to CNN.
China was “willing to continue to play its role” in promoting a “proper solution” to Ukraine, Xi told Putin, repeating his March stance with US President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv Thursday to show solidarity.
Macron said he had a “message of European unity addressed to Ukrainian men and women”.
Also read: Smaller nuclear warheads make nuclear terrorism realistic. China, US, Russia must sit together