As of: January 30, 2024, 4:55 a.m
By: Mark Stoffers
Comments
Press
Split
Russia condemns the crash as a “barbaric” act. Ukraine announces investigations that should not stand in the way of operations in the Ukrainian war.
Belgorod – First a fireball in the sky, then a huge column of smoke.
Apparently there has been a devastating plane accident in southern Russia.
More than 70 people may have died in a military plane crash.
After the military plane crashed, Russia made serious accusations against Ukraine.
Plane crash in Russia: Kremlin condemns incident as “barbaric” act
Russia clearly sees responsibility for the devastating plane crash as the opposing party in the Ukraine war.
According to the
Tass
news agency , the Foreign Ministry in Moscow condemned this as a “barbaric” act. However, the ministry has not yet revealed any evidence to support the allegations.
As the Defense Ministry previously announced, the plane crash occurred in the Belgorod region, which lies on the border with Ukraine.
Accordingly, 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three other people were said to have been on board the jet when it crashed around eleven a.m. local time.
None of the occupants are said to have survived the plane crash in Russia.
Prisoner exchange or arms delivery: Confusion over the crash of a military plane in Russia
The Defense Ministry in Moscow said that the prisoners had been flown for a planned exchange.
There was initially no other confirmation of this information.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian intelligence service announced that a prisoner exchange was actually planned for today.
Russian information that prisoners of war were on board the plane was being verified and was verified by the secret service.
However, the Ukrainian armed forces are apparently of the opinion that the plane did not have any Ukrainian prisoners on board, but rather was a weapons transport.
This appears to come from an unconfirmed statement given to
Ukrayinska Pravda
by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
is present.
In response to the news of the downing of an Il-76 in Russia, it said: “We will continue the destruction of carriers and the control of airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, including on the front between Belgorod and Kharkiv.”
“It brought death to people in the Kharkiv region – it carried missiles for S-300 [anti-aircraft missile systems],” a source apparently said.
There is no official confirmation of this information.
My news
Putin's T-90 is defeated in a duel - a steel colossus full of weak points
Erdogan tricks the SPD and the Greens: first a double pass, then new party readings
Baerbock hits the Union with the K question at a carnival event - “... and get Söder” read
“The enemy is gathering troops”: According to Ukraine soldiers, Putin is preparing a major attack read
Russia reacts to major NATO maneuvers – and threatens “tragic consequences” read
If Russia wins: Hungarian right-wing extremist wants to annex Ukrainian territories read
After plane crash in Russia: Ukraine wants to “eliminate terrorist threat”
Despite the news of the military plane crash in the Belgorod region, Ukraine says it will continue to target the Russian military in the Belgorod region.
It will "continue to take measures to destroy delivery vehicles and control airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat," including in the Belgorod-Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian army said in a statement on Wednesday, without elaborating further on the plane crash.
Belgorod had already become the focus of the Ukraine war last year.
At that time, partisans and paramilitary groups attacked the Russian city and caused great concern for Russia.
At the time, the Kremlin expressed “cause for deep concern.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly brought new allegations to the surface in the recent past.
Russia blamed Ukraine for a vampire missile attack when Belgorod came under fire earlier this year.
Kiev has not yet officially commented on the allegations surrounding the shooting down of the military aircraft.
However, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament and one of those responsible for the prisoner exchange, Dmytro Lubinets, announced an investigation into the incident.
(
with material from Afp
)