Separatists used corpse in ‘false flag’ attack

RUSSIAN-BACKED separatists used a corpse that had undergone an autopsy to stage a “false flag” attack aimed at painting Ukrainians as aggressors on Tuesday, says a report.

It is one of several apparently staged attacks in recent weeks, which Western intelligence services say Moscow is using to justify military escalation.

Authorities in the Donetsk People’s Republic reported civilian casualties, claiming that Ukrainian fighters targeted a military commander but bombed another car by mistake.

Graphic images showed what appeared to be a bombed-out car with a corpse inside. But open-source news outlets, including Glasnost Gone, pointed out that the skull had been sawn open in a straight line, suggesting the remains had already undergone an autopsy before the “attack”.

The website also questioned why the body itself was charred black while the rest of the back of the car showed only lighter signs of fire damage.

The car had been riddled with bullet holes, in what the report suggested was an attempt to imitate shrapnel damage. The vehicle was also photographed without number plates, prompting the accusation that it had been taken from a scrapyard for use as a prop.

US intelligence officials warned at the start of this month that Moscow was planning to release faked footage of a major attack by Ukrainian forces as a pretext to launch an invasion.

The Pentagon said the video would involve graphic images of the aftermath of an explosion to stir up outrage in Russia, and win public backing for a war.

Last week, shells hit a nursery school in the Donbas region, injuring three.

Boris Johnson described the incident as a “false flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians”, in comments echoed by Joe Biden. The Ukrainian security service said it had prevented a series of false flag attacks aimed at Russian Orthodox churches.