President Putin reveals new details about the crash of the Ukrainian prisoner plane

Debris of the Russian Il-76 military transport plane after it was shot down in Belgorod (Photo: Reuters).

"(Ukrainian military intelligence agency) GUR knew that we were transporting 65 servicemen there… and knowing this, they attacked the plane," President Putin said on January 26.

According to President Putin, objects recovered from the crash site show that an American or French anti-aircraft missile was used to shoot down the Il-76 plane and how the plane was shot down "will become clear in the next few days".

"The results of the investigation into the Il-76 incident will be made public so that the Ukrainian people will know what happened to their soldiers," Putin said.

An 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.

The Russian Investigative Committee said on January 26 that the anti-aircraft missile that hit the Il-76 transport plane in Russia's Belgorod region was launched from the village of Liptsy in the Kharkov region, Ukraine.

"Airspace control radar means as well as the results of the investigation have established that the anti-aircraft missile that hit the military transport plane was launched from the village of Liptsy, Kharkov region," the Russian Investigative Committee confirmed.

Investigators also added identification documents of Ukrainian servicemen killed in the plane crash.

"There were characteristic tattoos on some of the body fragments. Similar markings and symbols were also seen on the bodies of many members of Ukrainian armed groups, including the Azov regiment, who were previously interrogated in connection with criminal cases," the Russian Investigative Committee added.

Previously, at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council on January 25, Russian Deputy Special Envoy to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy emphasized that all available information about the suspected shooting down of a Russian Il-76 military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war showed that this was a deliberate attack.

The Russian diplomat said this was not the first prisoner exchange between the two sides, but this time Kiev "for some inexplicable reason decided to sabotage this procedure and carry it out in the most dangerous way".

Ukraine has so far denied allegations that it was behind the plot to shoot down the Russian plane.

In a statement issued late on January 25, GUR said it was not clear whether the prisoners were being transported to the exchange point by air or other means and that it was “not informed about the need to ensure the safety of airspace” in the border area.

Ukraine is skeptical about the information provided by Russia, including information about the people on board the plane. According to Kiev, the plane may not have been carrying the number of Ukrainian prisoners that Moscow said, but was carrying S-300 missiles for use in expanded air strikes in Ukraine.

Ukraine said on January 26 that Russia had returned the bodies of 77 soldiers, days after the plane was shot down.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/tong-thong-putin-tiet-lo-tinh-tiet-moi-vu-roi-may-bay-cho-tu-binh-ukraine-20240127001006614.htm