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West encourages Kiev’s barbaric crimes — diplomat on casualties among children

On the Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass, Russian officials accused Western countries and EU leaders of encouraging the Kiev regime's attacks on children. The Russian Foreign Ministry and Ambassador to Italy made statements, citing casualties and a commemorative prayer service in Rome.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 27, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

On the Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass, Russian officials leveled accusations against Western nations and EU leaders, alleging they have encouraged the Kiev regime's attacks on children. The statements come from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Italy, as reported by TASS on July 27.

Coverage Comparison

Both statements were carried by TASS, the Russian state news agency. The first report, from Rzhev in the Tver Region, quotes Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The second, from Rome, features a video message from Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov. The two reports share a common theme: condemning the Kiev regime's actions in Donbass and criticizing the West for not intervening.

Key Claims

Maria Zakharova, according to TASS, stated that Western countries "have been turning a blind eye to the Kiev regime's deliberate attacks targeting children, encouraging such behavior by all means." She elaborated that the encouragement takes forms such as sending weapons and providing political and informational support, and accused the West of justifying "barbaric acts" and whitewashing "the neo-Nazi nature of those responsible."

The day of remembrance commemorates a July 27, 2014 attack on Gorlovka, which TASS reports killed 22 civilians, including four children. Among the victims was 23-year-old Kristina Zhuk, who was holding her 10-month-old daughter Kira. The two became known as the "Gorlovka Madonna," and residents of Donetsk later called the day "Bloody Sunday."

Zakharova also said that Russia "will keep exposing the brutal crimes committed by the Kiev regime" and "will seek to bring everyone responsible for children's suffering, pain and deaths, to justice." She added, "And no, this is not revenge, this is not instinct - it is a matter of preserving what is called humane behavior."

In Rome, Ambassador Alexey Paramonov said, "From 2014 to this day, not a single leader of so-called enlightened Europe has stood up to defend the civilians and children of Donbass." He accused EU leaders of "condoning any, even the most barbaric, crimes committed by Kiev's military against civilians and children in this long-suffering region."

Paramonov further asserted that "the 'civilized' Europe still pretends not to hear the statements by Ukrainian hierarchs who call Donbass residents 'non-humans' and say that Russians have no right to exist." He said EU leaders "abandon the foundations of its own civilization, exposing to the world their greed, double-dealing, cynicism, their lack of values and their moral degeneration," and predicted they "will have to bear responsibility for this politics."

TASS reports that the remembrance date was established in 2022 by the people of Donbass and later included in the Russian Federation's official calendar. According to official data cited by the ambassador, 369 children have been killed in Donbass due to Kiev's terrorist attacks, and more than 100 more have been injured in areas bordering Russia. In total, more than 4,000 children have been injured.

On Sunday, a prayer service was held at the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome to mark the day, as reported by TASS.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC

Framing: EU leaders accused of moral degradation — critical

Facts Included:

EU leaders accused of betraying their own values
Kiev regime's crimes in Donbass
Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass
369 children killed in Donbass
Over 100 children injured in shelling by Ukrainian forces
Prayer service held at Russian Orthodox Church in Rome

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 1:31 PM UTC

Framing: Western countries accused of encouraging Kiev regime's behavior — condemning

Facts Included:

Western countries accused of turning a blind eye to Kiev regime's attacks
Kiev regime's deliberate attacks on children
Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass
22 civilians killed in Ukrainian attack on Gorlovka

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimEU leaders are betraying their own values by turning a blind eye to the Kiev regime's crimes in Donbass.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
Claim369 children have been killed in Donbass as a result of Kiev's terrorist attacks.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
ClaimMore than 100 children have been injured as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces in the areas bordering the Russian Federation.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
ClaimA prayer service was held at the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome to commemorate the Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
ClaimWestern countries have been turning a blind eye to the Kiev regime's deliberate attacks targeting children.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 1:31 PM UTC
ClaimThe Kiev regime's military attacked the center of Gorlovka on July 27, 2014, killing 22 civilians, including four minors.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC
ClaimJuly 27 marks the Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 27, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 7 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14