How did a Russian transport plane crash over Belgorod? The Kremlin is silent and blames Ukraine.
A week after the crash of a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, mysteries still surround the bodies. Responding to calls from Kiev to return the dead to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday it was a matter for Russian investigators. “The investigation is ongoing and all decisions during the investigation will be made only by the intelligence agencies,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agency Interfax. Authorities in Ukraine doubt whether the prisoners were actually on board.
Moscow accuses Ukrainian forces of shooting down Ilyushin in the Belgorod region on January 24 using US Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. Apart from nine members of the Russian team, Ukrainian soldiers were also killed for the prisoner exchange. Ukrainian coordination officials recently confirmed that a prisoner exchange would take place that day.
The Kremlin blames Ukraine
Russian investigators released an unverified video containing Ukrainian documents, body parts and a body bag. They also talked about the 670 body parts seized.
Immediately after the accident, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation. This week, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin also spoke out in favor of an international investigation. Peskov now said the West was not interested in clarifying “without going overboard” in the investigation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had earlier made similar comments in a meeting with foreign diplomats.
The engine is down
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu accused the Ukrainian armed forces of wanting to prove their own effectiveness to their supporters in the West. As with the Il-76, Ukrainian civilians will also be killed. “This shows the cynicism of Kiev's actions, which is ready to commit any crime to achieve its selfish goals,” Shoigu said.
According to Russian investigators, the plane was shot down over the Russian border region of Belgorod from Ukraine's Kharkiv region. In its nearly two-year war, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine from the Belgorod region, which defends itself with return fire.
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