Many questions remain unanswered after the mysterious crash of a Russian military plane that killed 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, the plane was not intended for prisoners of war, but was reserved for high-ranking Russian officers. Meanwhile, Moscow has launched an investigation into “terrorism”.
After the Ukrainian secret service announced an investigation, Moscow also responded: Russia had opened an investigation into “terrorism”. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which is responsible for prosecuting serious crimes, announced Thursday that human remains and the plane’s flight recorders were found at the crash site. Witness hearings were also announced.
Russia has not released any information about the identities of the victims
Russia claimed the plane was shot down from Ukrainian territory with an anti-aircraft missile. Kiev also knew that there were Ukrainian soldiers on board the plane. No evidence was provided to support these claims: Russia also remained silent on the identities of the victims.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday called the crash an “absolutely outrageous act” and warned of its consequences. “No one can tell you what impact this will have on the prospects for the extension of the process” of the prisoner exchange, Peskov said, according to state news agencies.
Do senior officers actually have to fly with you?
Ukraine also wants to clarify the crash: the SBU has “opened a criminal investigation into the shooting down of an IL-76 aircraft of the Russian Air Force in the Belgorod region,” it said on Thursday. Explosive: The military intelligence service HUR claimed that the crashed plane was actually reserved for important Russian officials. However, “at the last minute” the domestic secret service FSB asked them to use other transportation options, HUR spokesman Andriy Yusov told “Radio Liberty”.
“We know from intelligence sources that only five bodies were taken to the Belgorod morgue yesterday,” Yusov said. This would correspond exactly to the number of crew members of an Il-76. The spokesperson explained that no other human remains were visible in video footage from the accident scene.
A Russian military aircraft Ilyushin Il-76 crashed in the western Russian region of Belgorod on Wednesday morning. Russia said all 74 prisoners – including 65 prisoners of war from Ukraine – died in the accident. These statements have not yet been independently confirmed.
Source: Krone
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