Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian State Duma, on Tuesday described the situation in Ukraine's Bucha as "a performance staged for a Western audience," RIA news agency reported.

"The situation in Bucha is a provocation aimed at discrediting Russia," Volodin said.

Ukraine has accused Russian forces of carrying out a "massacre" in the town of Bucha.

(With input from Reuters)