US says Russia aims to fabricate evidence in prison deaths

By AAMER MADHANI and EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says new intelligence suggests Russia is working to fabricate evidence concerning last week’s deadly strike on a prison housing prisoners of war in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that U.S. intelligence officials determined that Russia is looking to plant false evidence to make it appear that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the attack on Olenivka Prison that left 53 dead and dozens wounded. Russia claims Ukraine’s military used U.S.-supplied rocket launchers to strike the prison in the Moscow-controlled region. Ukrainian’s military denies that. A Kremlin spokesman dismissed the U.S. claim, saying Russia has “nothing to hide.”