The Ukrainian National Assembly and Ukrainian People's Self-Defense (UNA-UNSO) political organization has dismissed claims by the Russian Prosecutor's Office Investigative Committee that members of the organization fought alongside Georgia in the August 2008 hostilities.
If the Ukrainians had indeed been involved in the Georgian-Ossetian
conflict, “the result would have been absolutely opposite,” Ruslan
Zaichenko, chairman of the UNA-UNSO executive committee, told Interfax
on Tuesday.
The reason why Moscow is making these claims is “Russia’s waning
influence in Ukraine” and its attempts to restore it ahead of the
presidential election.
The Russian Investigative Committee said earlier that the criminal
inquiry into the genocide and massacre of Russians in South Ossetia
revealed that Ukrainian servicemen and at least 200 UNA-UNSO members
took part in the war.
The Ukrainian defense ministry also denied the reports Ukrainian
troops participated in the August 2008 conflict between Georgia and
South Ossetia.
“Our servicemen did not participate in it, and our position on this
matter has not changed,” the ministry’s press office told Interfax.
