The terrible footage and photographs of bodies from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha have been described as an elaborate fabrication by Russian media, which has received governmental support.
In extensive broadcasts to millions of viewers, journalists and presenters of Russian state TV stations argued Tuesday that some picture and video evidence of the deaths was phony, while others demonstrated that Ukrainians were to blame.
“Among the first to appear were these Ukrainian shots, which show how a soulless body suddenly moves its hand,” a report Monday on Russia-1’s evening news broadcast declared.
“And in the rearview mirror it is noticeable that the dead seem to be starting to rise even.”
But satellite images from early March show the dead were left out on the streets of Bucha for weeks.
On April 2, a video taken from a moving car was posted online by a Ukrainian lawyer showing those same bodies scattered along Yablonska Street in Bucha.
High-resolution satellite images of Bucha from commercial provider Maxar Technology reviewed by The Associated Press independently matched the location of the bodies with separate videos from the scene.
Other Western media had similar reports.
Denouncing news as fake or spreading false reports to sow confusion and undermine its adversaries are tactics that Moscow has used for years and refined with the advent of social media in places like Syria.