As of: January 30, 2024, 12:42 p.m
By: Franziska Schwarz
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Press
Split
Before the military machine crashed in Belgorod, “several large objects” were said to have fallen from it.
A security expert generally warns against hasty conclusions.
Belgorod – All 74 people on board are said to have died.
There were reportedly 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war among them: The plane crash in Belgorod, Russia, gave rise to many accusations and speculations.
An eyewitness reported a “strange” object that was said to have fallen from the plane before the crash.
Anton Gerashenko, a former advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, also spoke.
He said "several large objects" fell from the Russian military aircraft,
Newsweek
reports.
He did not provide any further details.
The US portal also pointed to a report from the Russian Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU”: According to an alleged eyewitness, a “strange” object was “thrown” from the plane “shortly before the crash,” translated
Newsweek
.
from Russian.
This information could not be independently verified.
Plane crash in Russia: Putin spokesman threatens “effects” in the Ukraine war
The incident is also a big topic in Russia.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, called the crash an “absolutely outrageous act.”
Russia blamed Ukraine for the incident.
“No one can tell you what impact this will have on the prospects of extending the process” of prisoner exchange in the Ukraine war.
Peskov said this on Thursday (January 25), according to Russian state news agencies.
Was the Il-76 military transport plane carrying 65 prisoners of war really shot down?
Now there are pictures from Russia that are supposed to show wreckage.
© Uncredited/Russian Investigative Committee/AP/dpa
Ukraine war: Expert classifies the plane crash in Belgorod on ZDF
Security expert Claudia Major has meanwhile warned against hasty conclusions in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.
Two facts are currently known, said the head of the security policy research group at the Science and Politics Foundation (SWP).
“The plane was shot down.
And a prisoner exchange was planned, which did not take place.” This is currently “the only reliable information.”
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Everything else, such as lists on prisoner exchanges, has so far been “speculation”.
Therefore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj's call for an international investigation into the cause of the crash is correct.
Plane crash in Belgorod: Claudia Major warns of “propaganda effect”
The Russian news agency
Ria Novosti
, citing the Defense Ministry in Moscow, reported that the Ukrainian prisoners of war were on their way to Belgorod for an exchange on Wednesday.
The Russian armed forces used radars to “observe the launch of two Ukrainian missiles,” the ministry said.
The plane was shot down from a village in the Ukrainian border region of Kharkiv.
Military expert Claudia Major in ZDF’s “Morgenmagazin” on January 25th © Screenshot: ZDF media library
The SWP security expert Major said the incident made it clear once again “that this war is also taking place in the information space”.
Russia is “clearly” trying to wage this war with disinformation.
Therefore, caution is advised when speculating.
The expert emphasized that the incident did not change anything at the front.
The expert sees a “propaganda effect” above all.
The incident is “one more example of how Russia deals with Ukrainian prisoners of war,” said Major.
(frs with AFP)