Edited by Deepali Verma
Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked that a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine was shot down by Ukrainian air defences, whether on purpose or by mistake. Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 plane in Russia’s Belgorod region that killed 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian prisoners of war. Russia, however, has not yet presented evidence.
So far, Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it shot down the plane but has challenged Moscow’s account of the people on board and what happened.
“I am not aware whether they did it on purpose or by mistake, however it is obvious that they did it,” Putin voiced in his televised comments, which was his first on the crash. “What happened is a crime, either through negligence or on purpose. In any case it is a crime.”
Ukraine’s stance lies against Russia’s assertion that it was warned in advance about the flight of a plane carrying Ukrainian POWs to Russia’s southwestern Belgorod region at that time. It has further pointed out that there were discrepancies in a list published by Russian media of the 65 Ukrainians alleged to have been on the aircraft.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top investigative body, has posted online a video which showed Ukrainian soldiers under preparations to board the Il-76 aircraft. The video has zero sound and comes with a single line explanation that depicts Ukrainian servicemen boarding the military transport. It gave no information on the location.
Ukrainian commentators immediately expressed their doubt on the video.
Putin said it is not possible for the plane to be brought down by Russian “friendly fire” as its air defence systems have installed safeguards to guard them from attacking their own planes. Additionally, Putin said that the missiles fired were likely to be American or French, however this would be established in two to three days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s advisor said Putin’s comments are the case of “classic disinformation” campaign. Mykhail Podolyak said they were aimed at taking away Kyiv’s right to secure air defence missiles from its partners.
Reports from the Investigative Committee revealed that Ukrainian identity documents and tattooed body parts had been recovered from the site of the crash. The body parts are being collected and removed for genetic testing. Some of them had distinctive tattoos like those worn by captured Ukrainians, under interrogation by Russia. The evidence collected by the committee included “documents of Ukrainian servicemen who died in the disaster” and documents from the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia.”
The sole access to the crash site is held by Russia. Reporters can not independently verify its account of what happened and what evidence had been recovered. The Investigative Committee revealed that the preliminary findings indicate that the plane was struck by a surface-to-air missile fired from Ukraine.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, informed an official group in charge of the treatment of Ukrainian POWs that Kyiv had no “credible and comprehensive information” about who might have boarded the aircraft.
“There is no information suggesting the number of people that could have been on that plane,” Budanov was quoted as saying on the group’s Facebook page.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information regarding any official list being published and told reporters he had no clue on what would happen to the body remains.
Russia state media said the black box flight recorders from the plane have reached the Defense Ministry laboratory in Moscow and the investigators are already working on them.
