The alleged crash of 65 Ukrainians in the Russian border region of Belgorod remains a mystery. Ukraine calls for international clarification and wants to see further evidence. But apparently there is a problem: Moscow refuses to cooperate.
According to the Ukrainian leadership, the crash of the Russian military aircraft Il-76 continues to raise many questions. Moscow recently released images of the alleged crash site, showing a single body in a snowy field and items of clothing.
Reuters news agency reports that Russia is also refusing to hand over the bodies of the allegedly crashed prisoners of war to Ukraine. The Ukrainian agency handling the prisoner exchange also said Russian officials had provided it with a list of the 65 suspected victims “with great delay.”
Ukraine now wants to see evidence and is pushing for more images of the crash site: “This is mainly because they (the Russians) did not show the field strewn with corpses and remains that they should have shown to give Ukraine the greatest possible opportunity to give advantage To assign blame,” the head of HUR’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian television on Saturday.
The Kremlin spokesman has no information
It is therefore still unclear whether dozens of captured Ukrainian soldiers were actually on board the plane, as Moscow claims. Russia’s State Investigative Committee said last week that body parts were being collected and removed for genetic testing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday he had no information about what would happen to the remains and whether they would be handed over to Ukraine.
The military plane crashed a week ago in the western Russian region of Belgorod, about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. According to Russia, the plane also carried 65 Ukrainian soldiers intended for a prisoner of war exchange.
Conflicting statements
Moscow claimed that Kiev was aware of this and deliberately shot down the plane and its own soldiers. Ukrainian leaders reject the allegations and call for an international investigation into the matter. In Kiev it was said that no one was aware of the transport of the prisoners.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that the plane was downed by American Patriot missiles that Ukraine had received from the United States. The ruler declared that the shooting down of the Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft was a crime. He doesn’t understand why Ukraine did this. Putin now also called for an investigation by international experts.
Source: Krone
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