Two days after the crash of a Russian military plane which, according to Moscow, was transporting 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, many questions remain. The plane crashed in the Belgorod region, 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
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“Either way, it’s a crime.” For Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is “flagrant” that the military plane that crashed in the border area was shot down by Ukrainian forces. On Wednesday, an Il-76 transport plane crashed near the Russian village of Yablonovo, 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Russian authorities say the crash killed 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners who were being transferred for an exchange with kyiv.
“The intelligence services of the Ukrainian army knew that we were transporting 65 servicemen [ukrainiens] on board. They shot him, by mistake or on purpose, but they did it.” Vladimir Putin told Russian students on Friday January 26. This is his first public reaction to the crash.
kyiv and Moscow blame each other for this crash. Ukraine, which has called for an international investigation, neither confirmed nor denied shooting down the plane, but appeared to cast doubt on whether any prisoners were on board. kyiv confirmed that a prisoner exchange was to take place, but said it had not been informed that the prisoners were to be flown to the border as had been done previously.
