In this photo taken from video released by Russian Investigative Committee on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, Russian Investigative Committee employee walks in a place with wreckage of the Russian military Il-76 plane crashed area near Yablonovo, Belgorod region of Russia, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024.
(Russian Investigative Committee via AP)
On the photo from video released by Russian Investigative Committee on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, buses with Ukrainian POWs parked to load Ukrainian servicemen on board of Russian military Il-76 plane, later crashed near Yablonovo, Belgorod region of Russia, on Jan. 25, 2024. Russia’s vulnerability to cross-border attacks was highlighted again Wednesday when the Defense Ministry said a military transport plane was shot down in the Belgorod region while carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine didn’t contest the plane went down but argued that Moscow had failed to say in advance it was carrying POWs.
On the photo from video released by Russian Investigative Committee on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, buses with Ukrainian POWs parked to load Ukrainian servicemen on board of Russian military Il-76 plane, later crashed near Yablonovo, Belgorod region of Russia, on Jan. 25, 2024. Russia’s vulnerability to cross-border attacks was highlighted again Wednesday when the Defense Ministry said a military transport plane was shot down in the Belgorod region while carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine didn’t contest the plane went down but argued that Moscow had failed to say in advance it was carrying POWs.
(Russian Investigative Committee via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Investigative Committee on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, wreckage of the Il-76 is seen near Yablonovo, Belgorod region of Russia, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Russia and Ukraine are trading accusations over the crash of a military transport plane that Moscow said was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war and was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. The Il-76 crashed in a huge ball of fire in a rural area of Russia, and authorities there said all 74 people on board, including 65 POWs, six crew and three Russian servicemen, were killed.
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Investigative Committee on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, wreckage of the Il-76 is seen near Yablonovo, Belgorod region of Russia, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Russia and Ukraine are trading accusations over the crash of a military transport plane that Moscow said was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war and was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. The Il-76 crashed in a huge ball of fire in a rural area of Russia, and authorities there said all 74 people on board, including 65 POWs, six crew and three Russian servicemen, were killed.
(Russian Investigative Committee via AP)
Women lay flowers in memory of those who were killed in the plane on Wednesday, at the memorial to soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War “Enternal Flame” in Yablonovo, Belgorod region, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. A Russian military transport plane crashed in a border region near Ukraine. Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting it down and said that all 74 people aboard were killed on Wednesday. Russia said the fatalities included 65 Ukrainian POWs.
January 27, 2024
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.
The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. The agency’s update cited Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, as saying that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane
The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that missiles fired from across the border brought down the transport plane that it said was taking the POWs back to Ukraine. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people onboard, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen.
Russia’s Putin blames Ukraine for crash of POW’s plane and pledges to make investigation public
“We currently don’t have evidence that there could have been that many people onboard the aircraft. Russian propaganda’s claim that the IL-76 aircraft was transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs (heading) for a prisoner swap continues to raise a lot of questions,” Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s POW agency, said.
Social media users in the Belgorod region posted a video Wednesday that showed a plane falling from the sky in a snowy, rural area, and a huge ball of fire erupting where it apparently hit the ground.
Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed a Russian military transport plane that day, and Russia’s claim that the crash killed Ukrainian POWs could not be independently verified. Earlier Friday, Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukraine’s air force commander, described Moscow’s assertion as “rampant Russian propaganda.”
Ukrainian officials earlier this week confirmed that a prisoner swap was due to happen Wednesday but said it was called off. They said Moscow did not ask for any specific stretch of airspace to be kept safe for a certain length of time, as it has for past prisoner exchanges.
An International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson in Ukraine urged Russia on Friday night to return the bodies of any POWs who might have died in the plane crash.
In a live interview with the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Red Cross Media Relations Officer Oleksandr Vlasenko also remarked that “very little time” had passed between the initial reports of the incident and Moscow declaring it was ready to return the bodies of the Ukrainian POWs.
While Ukraine and Russia regularly exchange the bodies of dead soldiers, each trade has required considerable preparation, Vlasenko said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for an international investigation into the crash. Russia has sole access to the crash site.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Friday to make the findings of Moscow’s crash investigation public. In his first public remarks on the incident, Putin repeated previous comments by Russian officials that “everything was planned” for a prisoner exchange that day when the aircraft went down.
“Knowing (the POWs were aboard), they attacked this plane. I don’t know whether they did it on purpose or by mistake, through thoughtlessness,” Putin said of Ukraine at a meeting with students in St. Petersburg.
He offered no details to support the allegation that Kyiv was to blame, but said the plane’s flight recorders had been found.
“There are black boxes, everything will now be collected and shown,” Putin said.
Women lay flowers in memory of those who were killed in the plane on Wednesday, at the memorial to soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War “Enternal Flame” in Yablonovo, Belgorod region, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. A Russian military transport plane crashed in a border region near Ukraine. Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting it down and said that all 74 people aboard were killed on Wednesday. Russia said the fatalities included 65 Ukrainian POWs.
January 27, 2024
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.
The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. The agency’s update cited Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, as saying that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane
The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that missiles fired from across the border brought down the transport plane that it said was taking the POWs back to Ukraine. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people onboard, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen.
Russia’s Putin blames Ukraine for crash of POW’s plane and pledges to make investigation public
“We currently don’t have evidence that there could have been that many people onboard the aircraft. Russian propaganda’s claim that the IL-76 aircraft was transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs (heading) for a prisoner swap continues to raise a lot of questions,” Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s POW agency, said.
Social media users in the Belgorod region posted a video Wednesday that showed a plane falling from the sky in a snowy, rural area, and a huge ball of fire erupting where it apparently hit the ground.
Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed a Russian military transport plane that day, and Russia’s claim that the crash killed Ukrainian POWs could not be independently verified. Earlier Friday, Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukraine’s air force commander, described Moscow’s assertion as “rampant Russian propaganda.”
Ukrainian officials earlier this week confirmed that a prisoner swap was due to happen Wednesday but said it was called off. They said Moscow did not ask for any specific stretch of airspace to be kept safe for a certain length of time, as it has for past prisoner exchanges.
An International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson in Ukraine urged Russia on Friday night to return the bodies of any POWs who might have died in the plane crash.
In a live interview with the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Red Cross Media Relations Officer Oleksandr Vlasenko also remarked that “very little time” had passed between the initial reports of the incident and Moscow declaring it was ready to return the bodies of the Ukrainian POWs.
While Ukraine and Russia regularly exchange the bodies of dead soldiers, each trade has required considerable preparation, Vlasenko said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for an international investigation into the crash. Russia has sole access to the crash site.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Friday to make the findings of Moscow’s crash investigation public. In his first public remarks on the incident, Putin repeated previous comments by Russian officials that “everything was planned” for a prisoner exchange that day when the aircraft went down.
“Knowing (the POWs were aboard), they attacked this plane. I don’t know whether they did it on purpose or by mistake, through thoughtlessness,” Putin said of Ukraine at a meeting with students in St. Petersburg.
He offered no details to support the allegation that Kyiv was to blame, but said the plane’s flight recorders had been found.
“There are black boxes, everything will now be collected and shown,” Putin said.
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