Many uncertainties remain on Thursday, the day after the crash of a Russian military plane near the Ukrainian border, with Moscow accusing kyiv – without corroborating evidence – of knowingly shooting down a plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners.
On Wednesday, an Il-76 transport plane crashed near the Russian village of Yablonovo, 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, killing all 74 occupants according to Russian authorities.
According to Moscow’s version, 65 Ukrainian prisoners who were going to be exchanged were there, with a crew of six people and three Russian soldiers.
The Russian army assures that the aircraft was destroyed by Ukrainian forces who “knew” that the prisoners would be taken by plane from Belgorod to a meeting point at the border.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov once again accused Kiev of a “monstrous act”.
However, Russia has not provided any evidence as to the identity of the passengers or demonstrated that Ukraine knew who was on board the plane.
The Ukrainian human rights commissioner, one of the people in charge of the prisoner exchanges, Dmytro Loubinets, therefore called on Thursday the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to “inspect the scene” of the crash.
However, he said he was “convinced” that Moscow will not allow “anyone […] to see the site.
kyiv does not confirm having shot down the plane, but emphasizes its desire to continue to strike military targets on Russian territory.
And Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) insisted on the lack of “reliable and complete information” regarding the plane’s passengers.
Responsible Russia
The Ukrainian human rights commissioner noted that Russia was in all cases “responsible for the safety” of detainees, according to the Geneva Convention.
Dmytro Loubinets also said “there is no indication that there were so many people on board”.
“In my opinion, this is a clear example of Russia planning a propaganda campaign against Ukraine,” he added on his social networks.
kyiv acknowledges that an exchange of prisoners was planned, but claims to have “not been informed” of the need to secure the airspace in the crash zone.
On Thursday, the country’s special services (SBU) announced that they were opening an investigation into the crash, under a criminal article on “violation of the laws and customs of war.”
But any investigation seems difficult, the device being on Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international investigation.
“It is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their loved ones and the emotions of our society,” he said.
The UN Security Council
MH17, Prigozhin
The Russian region of Belgorod, where the plane crashed, is regularly targeted by Ukrainian missile and drone attacks due to its proximity to the border and in response to multiple Russian bombings of Ukraine.
kyiv has also already claimed responsibility for the destruction of Russian aircraft which until recently seemed beyond the reach of Ukrainian weapons. Last week, the country said it had shot down an A-50 spy plane (Russian equivalent of Western AWACS) and destroyed an Il-22 command aircraft. Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied.
Russia has been involved in several air disasters, the circumstances of which are still unclear and where the Russian version of events raises many questions.
The most famous case is that of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, shot down over Ukraine in 2014. If all the elements point to the responsibility of fighters in the pay of Moscow, Russia has multiplied the versions to accuse the Ukraine of the tragedy which left 298 dead.
A more recent case is that of the plane carrying the leader of the Wagner armed group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, which crashed in August 2023 during a flight between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The crash killed him and his top lieutenants, weeks after an abortive mutiny that enraged Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian authorities have denied any involvement, saying the plane may have crashed because its passengers detonated a grenade on board.
Finally in July 2022, kyiv and Moscow accused each other of the bombing of a prison in Olenivka, in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, an attack during which more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war died.