Russia says it has evidence Ukraine shot down prisoner plane with US missile

Il-76 plane crash scene (Photo: TASS).

In a statement on February 1, the Russian National Investigative Committee said that it had identified the type of weapon used to shoot down the Russian Il-76 transport plane on January 24 in the Belgorod border region. Specifically, Ukraine fired two US-made Patriot missiles from an area in the Kharkov province, northeast of the country, and only about 10km from the Russian border.

According to the statement, during the investigation, the investigation team found 116 missile fragments with English text, one of which read: "Patriot Security Information 9/22/83, Appendix 11/28/83 8/8/84, Contract No. DAAH01-86C-A018".

Russia releases evidence that Ukraine shot down a plane carrying prisoners with an American missile ( Video : RT).

The statement added: "The debris recovered at the scene, according to design characteristics, geometric characteristics and available signs, is a structural component of the MIM-104A guided air defense missile of the US Patriot complex, developed and manufactured by Raytheon and Hughes."

In addition, extensive testing of the explosive's composition showed that the missile was most likely manufactured abroad.

The statement was accompanied by a video showing Russian investigators working at the scene with collected missile debris.

Another video appears to show investigators putting body parts in bags for forensic examination. The investigation has shown that the dead were Ukrainian soldiers.

A Russian Il-76 military transport plane crashed while transporting Ukrainian prisoners of war to the border area between the two countries for an exchange on January 24. The incident killed all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, 6 crew members and 3 Russian officials.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry , the plane was hit by two surface-to-air missiles launched from Ukrainian territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also accused Ukraine yesterday of shooting down the Il-76 plane with a US Patriot missile. "The plane was shot down by the US Patriot system. This has been determined based on expert assessments," the Kremlin leader said.

He said that with this move, Kiev is trying to provoke Russia to take retaliatory actions. However, he stressed that Russia will not stop exchanging prisoners despite the provocation.

Yesterday, Russia and Ukraine carried out the largest prisoner exchange ever, with each side freeing 195 people.

Ukraine has not yet commented on the conclusions of the Russian investigation. Previously, Kiev neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the Il-76 downing, but rejected the information provided by Moscow and called for an international investigation.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-noi-co-bang-chung-ukraine-ban-roi-may-bay-cho-tu-binh-bang-ten-lua-my-20240201192909207.htm