Moscow accuses Ukraine of firing two antiaircraft missiles at the plane; 74 people died
The Main Intelligence Department of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine said on Wednesday (January 24, 2024) that the Kremlin did not ask for the security of the airspace of Belgrod in southern Russia, where a plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners and 74 people died. Moscow accuses Kiev of attacking the plane. The information comes from the official channel of the Ukrainian service.
According to the statement, the country led by Volodymyr Zelensky said it had no reliable information about who was on board the plane and that Russia needed to guarantee the safety of Ukrainian prisoners held by Moscow, which the country said it had not done have .
On the other hand, Ukraine claims to have fulfilled all the requirements of the agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war between the countries. Kiev also claims that Russian soldiers who were held captive were safely returned to their country of origin.
Ukraine further stated that the Russian allegations of attacking the plane were “planned actions by the Russian Federation aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and weakening international support for Kiev.”
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian military plane with 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, this Wednesday (January 24). Everyone died. The Ilyushin Il76 model crashed in the city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine. The information comes from the Russian news agency RIA.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a missile fired from Liptsy in the Kharkov region brought down the plane. The Kremlin also reported that there were six crew members and three Russian soldiers on board. The exchange between prisoners would take place in Kolotilovka, on the border between Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow classified the incident as an “act of terrorism” by Ukraine and said that the “Kiev Nazi regime” shot down the plane and blamed it on the Russians. The Portal news agency contacted the Ukrainian government and called for a demonstration. Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky, said that a statement needed to be made, but the information still needed to be clarified.
A resident of the area recorded the moment of the plane crash. In the images below you can see an explosion followed by a cloud of black smoke.
Watch the video (56 seconds):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSGuHj6Vpc
In Post on XSputnik and RT editorinchief Margarita Simonyan published the list of Ukrainian prisoners who were on the plane.
Read the names:
- Maxim Mikhailovich Alexeyev;
- Mikhail Sergesevich Antonov;
- Ivan Sergeyevich Arestov
- “Alexander Yuryevi” Babaev;
- Omelyan Vasilyevich Badulin;
- Vladislav Yuryevich Bobrovsky;
- Yevgeny Anatolyevich Galtsev;
- Alexei Leonidovich Gladyr;
- Deniya Viktorovich Golik;
- Vladimir Nikolayevich Grischenko;
- Konstantin Nikolayevich Danilchenko;
- Sergey Viktorovich Ditsman;
- Bogdan Mikhailovich Dudyak;
- Igor Vladimirovich Erysh;
- Alexander Vladimirovich Eskov;
- Vitaly Valerievich Kaskov;
- Sergey Nikolaevich Kobzev;
- Valery Andreevich Kovalev;
- Nazar Vladimirovich Kovalyk;
- Oleg Petrovich Kovalchuk;
- Ivan Sergeyevich Komaritsyn;
- Maxim Anatolyevich Konovalenko;
- Dmitri Alexandrovich Kornienko;
- Denis Valerievich Korchan;
- Yaroslav Ivanovich Krivane;
- Dmitri Vladimirovich Kryachko;
- Oleg Miroslavovich Kuzma;
- Vyacheslav Ivanovich Kuropjatnik;
- Sergey Tarasovich Levkiv;
- Alexander Viktorovich Lemecha;
- Alexander Viktorovich Lepski;
- Yuri Nikolayevich Lobashov;
- Roman Vitalievich Lozitsky;
- Alexander Dmitrievich Motorin;
- Roman Sergeyevich Navitny;
- Valery Ivanovich Oleksienko;
- Alexander Valerievich Omelyanenko;
- Sergei Vasilyevich Onysko;
- Andrei Anatolyevich Orlovsky;
- Ivan Ivanovich Okhapsky;
- Nazar Olegovich Petrykiv;
- Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Posnyakov;
- Andrey Evgenievich Radushinsky;
- Ivan Romanovich Roy;
- Valery Ivanovich Saltan;
- Sergei Viktorovich Semenov;
- Valery Valerievich Semikras;
- Igor Nikolayevich Semonenko;
- Yaroslav Vladimirovich Sobolev;
- Vladislav Igorevich Stetsenko;
- Yuri Viktorovich Stzenko;
- Deuran Baserbayevich Tailakov;
- Sergey Nikolaevich Tarasov;
- Andrey Vyacheslavovich Tatuyko;
- Roman Vasilyevich Tkach;
- Nikolai Vladimirovich Truchan;
- Ivan Ivanovich Fedeka;
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Fedchuk;
- Vitaly Alexandrovich Fil;
- Vitaly Vladimirovich Fokin;
- Andrey Viktorovich Chekishev;
- Alexei Sergeyevich Sharov;
- Alexander Anatolyevich Schelin;
- Alexander Sergeyevich Janshin;
- Igor Vladimirovich Jarg.
According to the Russian state agency Tass, Russia has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (United Nations) this Wednesday (January 24) regarding the crash of the Il76 aircraft.
“We strongly count on France, which is currently chairing the meeting, to fulfill its responsibility and arrange this meeting as quickly as possible,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
At UN headquarters in New York, Lavrov said the Kremlin was working to establish “facts” about the plane crash, while Kiev declared a “victory.” He said Ukraine “definitely” knew about the upcoming prisoner exchange in the Belgorod region.
“This is another atrocity of Zelensky’s criminal regime. Immediately after the plane crash, they made a misanthropic statement about the victory of the “brave Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the minister said.
This Wednesday (January 24), Zelensky took to social media to post a tribute to Ukraine's foreign intelligence service.
“These are the people who help the state stay aware of the real situation in every direction. “An institution whose effectiveness is crucial to many of Ukraine's successes,” he wrote in X. The Ukrainian president has not yet made a public statement on the allegations related to the downing of the Russian plane.
After nearly two years of war, Zelensky has struggled to secure financial support from countries allied with Ukraine.
In December, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said funding for Ukraine would be exhausted by the end of 2023 if the US Congress did not approve President Joe Biden's emergency spending request.
According to Politico, the Pentagon has $4.4 billion at its disposal to deliver weapons from the US Department of Defense stockpiles directly to Kiev. However, the transfer of these weapons is limited by the financing needs to replenish the US stockpile, which is almost exhausted.