In this
war in Ukraine
that is about to turn two years old at the rate of
bombings and disinformation,
the fall of a Russian military transport plane, with supposedly
65 Ukrainian prisoners
this Wednesday, is surrounded by questions and crossed accusations.
The discovery of the black boxes this Thursday could provide clarity if Moscow shares the information.
Below,
what is known so far
about the incident.
The Russian version
Russia announced Thursday that it had found the two black boxes of the military transport plane that it accuses Ukraine of having shot down,
killing all 74 passengers on board,
including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transferred for a prisoner exchange.
The plane plummets, recorded by a cell phone camera.
Photo: AP
Moscow called the downing of the plane with a total of 74 passengers on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transferred for a prisoner exchange, a "monstrous act," according to Russia, which says the plane was shot down with two
missiles. from an air defense system located in the Kharkiv region
of northeastern Ukraine.
Andrei Kartapolov, a Duma deputy and former Russian army general, stated that the plane had been shot down with missiles of American or German design and that it
was not escorted by fighters
because the flight had been arranged with Ukraine.
"The fact that the Ukrainians killed their prisoners, their citizens, who were supposed to return home in practically 24 hours, is of course a completely monstrous act," declared Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, quoted by the agencies. of Russian press.
Russia maintains that the plane was shot down 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, in the Russian region of Belgorod.
Everyone on board the plane, including Ukrainian prisoners of war, died in the crash, according to Russian authorities.
The Ukrainian version
Kiev has confirmed neither its responsibility for the crash nor the presence of Ukrainian prisoners of war on board,
casting doubt on some of Russia's claims.
Ukraine wants
an international investigation,
Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Loubinets said on television, adding that he would send letters to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"According to my information, I cannot confirm that there were indeed prisoners of war. We have not seen any signs that there were so many people on board," he added.
A sign marks the town of Yablonovo, near where the plane fell.
Photo: AFP
In his daily video message broadcast on Wednesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that
more information was needed to clarify the incident
.
"It is clear that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their families and with the emotions of our society," he commented.
Regarding the alleged prisoner exchange planned for Wednesday, to which Russia alludes, Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) said that it
had not been ordered to guarantee safe airspace
, as on previous occasions.
The GUR's comments have been seen as
a tacit acknowledgment that Ukraine shot down the
military transport plane, although it stressed that it
had no reliable information about who was on board
and warned that the incident could have involved "planned and deliberate actions by Russia." ".
The Ukrainian military stressed, without confirming that it had shot down the plane, that it would continue destroying Russian transport planes carrying missiles intended to attack Ukraine.
List of names
Russian state media published a list of
65 names of Ukrainian soldiers
believed to have been on board, along with their dates of birth.
According to some Ukrainian media, this list
includes names of prisoners who have already been exchanged.
UN Security Council meeting
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet this Thursday afternoon at the request of Russia, which aims to establish "the reasons for this Ukrainian criminal act," in the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, as well as six crew members and three Russian soldiers.
The prisoner exchange was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at a border crossing, he added.
According to the Ministry, Ukraine knew that a transport plane with prisoners was going to arrive at Belgorod airport.
What happened to the Russian military plane?
A video shared on social media showed a plane crashing followed by an explosion and a fireball near the village of Yablonovo, 70 kilometers northeast of the city of Belgorod, around 11:00 local time.
Video
Loop.
I followed the coverage on clarin.com.
Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the plane crashed in a field near a residential area and everyone on board had died.
The Ukrainian General Staff, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda website, initially said that the plane
was carrying missiles
for the Russian S-300 air defense systems.
He made no mention of prisoners of war.
None of the details surrounding those on board
can be independently verified,
but Ukrainian military intelligence said it was Russia's responsibility to "ensure the safety of our defenders according to the agreements that had been reached."
The black boxes of the Russian plane
Investigators found the plane's black box, it was reported this Thursday.
The discovery of the flight registers was reported by state news agency RIA Novosti, which cited emergency services.
However, it was not clear whether it will
definitively
clarify the circumstances of the accident and the Russian accusations .
The war between Ukraine and Russia has been characterized by mutual denunciations and denials, used as ammunition in an attempt to influence internal and external opinion.
As the conflict approaches its second anniversary, the
1,500-kilometre
front line of fighting stretching from Russia to Ukraine's Crimea peninsula through four partially occupied eastern and southern Ukrainian provinces
has remained in place. largely static
in the midst of a second winter of hostilities.
With information from agencies, RFI and BBC News