Russian soldiers "work like jewellers, surgeons" in Ukraine

Following on the 21 March comments by the Russian ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG) who said that Russia was "trying to bomb in a very delicate way" the Russian Embassy spokesman in Paris went a bit further suggesting Ukrainians were bombing themselves to have Russia blamed for this… and that Russian soldiers were working like jewellers, like surgeons…

Excerpts of comments made in interview by Swiss journalist Darius Rochebin (for French TF1 / LCI TV on 5 March) Edited for clarity, from audio.

Darius Rochebin: You're bombing a sovereign state recognised as such by the international community, the war is coming your side

Alexander Makogonov: Bombing is not the correct word, it has a general meaning, but in Ukraine what we have is that a very targeted military operation is being carried out. One can use bombing when talking about the former Yugoslavia for example, when 14,000 bombs were dropped on Serbian territory over 78 days.

It's always the question of interpreting images, when we see images of destroyed houses, rubble, burnt houses, etc., we must ask ourselves: if these images are the consequence, what was the cause? Maybe it wasn't the Russians, maybe it was the Ukrainians who did it on purpose to provoke, so that everyone would see these images and start accusing and condemning Russia.

Rochebin: But you are not in your country...

Makogonov: We are conducting a military operation to protect the population of Donbass, that's the first thing, and to fulfil the objectives set at the beginning, objectives made public by the President.

I repeat it we are conducting a very targeted military operation, we are not targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure, we are not even targeting barracks with soldiers.

When you look at this rubble, these ruins, you wonder: who is behind the cause of this damage? In almost all cases: Ukrainians who are hiding behind these houses, who are setting up their firing positions, simply to use civilians as protection, they are hiding behind civilians.

Rochebin: You invade a sovereign country, they defend their country. If Russia was invaded, you would defend yourselves.

Makogonov: In a global way, we are conducting a very targeted military operation, our soldiers work like jewellers, like surgeons…

Rochebin: You can't say that, nobody will believe you. You're talking nonsense when you say it's the work of a jeweller, there are children dying, you can't say that.

Makogonov: In every war there is this notion invented by the Americans called collateral damage...