(MENAFN) The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Ukraine is planning a provocation to disrupt the upcoming Alaska summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Friday.

According to the ministry, foreign journalists have been brought to Chuguev in the Kharkov Region to document local residents in frontline areas. Ukrainian forces are allegedly preparing to carry out a strike with drones and missiles targeting a residential area or hospital, which would then be recorded by the visiting journalists. The Russian statement warned that Ukraine would aim to blame any resulting civilian casualties on Russian forces and that similar provocations could occur in other Ukrainian-controlled towns.

The ministry drew parallels to the 2022 Bucha incident, when Ukrainian authorities reported hundreds of civilian deaths after Russian troops left the area, attributing the killings to Moscow. Russia has repeatedly claimed the Bucha events were a staged operation to discredit it and derail peace talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he requested details on the Bucha casualties from UN Secretary-General António Guterres three times but received no response. The Russian Foreign Ministry also accused Ukrainian forces of staging civilian executions in Selidovo, Donetsk People’s Republic, in late October, allegedly involving foreign mercenaries, to falsely implicate Moscow in war crimes.

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