Putin ally says Bucha killings are fake propaganda

One of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's closest allies said on Tuesday that claims that Russian forces executed civilians in Bucha were fake products of Ukrainian and Western propaganda aimed at discrediting Russia.

"These are fakes that matured in the cynical imagination of Ukrainian propaganda," Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, said.

"They were concocted for vast amounts of money," Medevedev said.