Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed reports about an attack on a hospital in Mariupol as fake news.
Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned in his Twitter an "attack on a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, where maternity & children's wards are located," as "horrific," noting that civilians are "paying the highest price for a war that has nothing to do with them."
Polyanskiy wrote on Twitter in response to Guterres' statement: "That's how #Fakenews is born. We warned in our statement back on 7 March (https://russiaun.ru/en/news/070322n) that this hospital has been turned into a military object by radicals. Very disturbing that UN spreads this information without verification."
Russia started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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