Kremlin, commenting on purported Mariupol death toll, accuses Ukraine of many civilians deaths

Kremlin, commenting on purported Mariupol death toll, accuses Ukraine of many civilians deaths

The Kremlin said on Friday it had not yet reviewed an assessment by Human Rights Watch on how many people had been killed in the city of Mariupol, but accused Ukrainian forces of being responsible for many civilian deaths there.

At least 8,000 people were killed by fighting or war-related causes in Russia's months-long conquest of Mariupol, one of the biggest battles of the nearly two-year war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Human Rights Watch.

Commenting on the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukrainian forces of using civilians in Mariupol as human shields and of shooting them in the back.

"We have not yet had time to familiarise ourselves with it (the report) and do not know how reliable this information can be considered," Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

"But we do know that a great many civilians died at the hands of the neo-Nazis who were trying to defend Mariupol at that time. They used civilians as human shields, shot them in the back. This we know and it is known for sure," added Peskov.

He did not refer to evidence that would back up his assertion, which has previously been denied by Kyiv.