Belgorod plane attack: Kiev deliberately shot down plane carrying its POWs, Moscow says

RT
Wed, 24 Jan 2024 12:29 UTC

© RT

74 people, including 65 Ukrainian service members, were killed in the crash in Belgorod Region

Kiev's forces knowingly downed a Russian plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war that crashed on Wednesday, killing all on board, in order to pin the attack on Moscow, the Defense Ministry has said, adding that Kiev had once again shown its "true colors".

In a statement following the incident, the ministry revealed that a Russian IL-76 cargo plane had crashed in Belgorod Region, claiming the lives of 65 Ukrainian POWs, as well as six crew members and three Russian soldiers.

The Defense Ministry claimed that the "Kiev regime committed a terrorist act" by targeting the plane, which was transporting POWs for a further prisoner exchange, from the Chkalovsky military airbase near Moscow to Belgorod.

Russian officials stated that the plane had been hit at 11:15am local time by Ukrainian air defense forces stationed in Kharkov Region, adding that the military had registered the launch of two missiles.

Confirming that everyone aboard was killed in the attack, the ministry said that the Ukrainian leadership was well aware of the flight and its mission. It noted that Moscow and Kiev had agreed to conduct a prisoner exchange later on Wednesday near the Russian border village of Kolotilovka in Belgorod Region.

Nevertheless, the Nazi Kiev regime [carried out this attack] in a bid to accuse Russia of killing members of the Ukrainian military. By committing this terrorist act, the Ukrainian leadership showed its true face, disregarding the lives of its citizens.

Russian officials stated earlier that the attack used either US-made or German air defense systems, with State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin urging Kiev's Western backers to finally realize that they are backing a "Nazi regime."

Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov said a second plane had been carrying another 80 captured Ukrainian troops, which was swiftly diverted from the danger zone after the first aircraft was attacked.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has so far declined to comment on the incident, saying only that it was looking into the matter. However, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for Kiev's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR), confirmed that Russia and Ukraine were indeed scheduled to carry out a prisoner exchange on Wednesday, adding that it had since been canceled.

Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda initially reported, citing unnamed defense officials in Kiev, that the IL-76 was destroyed by the country's military. Later, however, it removed the mention of Kiev's role in the attack.

Comment:
See an earlier article 65 Ukrainian POWs killed in Russian plane crash - MOD

There have been other articles from the same news outlet:
24 Jan, 2024 15:32
Russia demands Security Council meeting in response to Belgorod plane attack

Ukrainskaya Pravda, a Ukrainian newspaper, initially reported that the plane had indeed been downed by the country's military, but edited its article on the incident shortly afterwards to remove this information.

The newspaper celebrated the downing as a success for the country's "victorious armed forces," Lavrov told the press conference. However, once it became known that the plane was carrying POWs, "the Ukrainian propaganda started to sweep it under the carpet...and find other explanations."

Moscow is still working to ascertain Kiev's motives, he said.

24 Jan, 2024 19:10
Ukraine 'considers us meat' - POW killed in Belgorod crash

One of the Ukrainian prisoners who died on Wednesday had spoken to RT in 2022 about why he surrendered. Konstantin Danilchenko was on the plane shot down by Ukrainian missiles over Russia's Belgorod Region, with no survivors.
[...]
RT found Danilchenko's name on the passenger manifest of the doomed flight, at number 11. It sounded familiar because of a 2022 video published by the Russian Defense Ministry, in which the recently captured Ukrainian soldier spoke about his reasons for surrendering.

"I wanted to live," Danilchenko said in the video. "We are considered 'meat', and everyone understands why our leadership is so cold towards us."

[...]

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Ukraine had been informed about the transport of the prisoners by air, accusing Kiev of shooting down the plane with their citizens on purpose in a "terrorist act."

Ukrainian media initially reported that a plane resupplying missiles to Russian troops targeting Kharkov had been shot down. Those reports were quietly deleted when it emerged that the IL-76 was transporting Ukrainian prisoners. The General Staff in Kiev issued a statement calling Russian transport flights a legitimate target because of attacks on Kharkov, but did not address the fate of the POWs.

25 Jan, 2024 17:45
Ukraine killed POWs with American missile - French state media

Ukrainian forces used a US-supplied Patriot missile to shoot down a Russian cargo plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, French state broadcaster Radio France reported on Wednesday, citing a source in the country's military.
[...]
Radio France's source did not provide any additional information, but the claim backs up an earlier assertion by a senior Russian MP that "Patriot or Iris-T air defense missiles" were used to bring the aircraft down.

The defense ministry stated that the missiles were launched from the Liptsy suburb of Kharkov, around 100km from the site of the crash. Both the American Patriot and German Iris-T systems are capable of engaging targets from this range, and the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said on Wednesday that it regularly uses such systems to target Russian military flights in the area, without explicitly admitting that it shot down the Il-76.
[...]

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has not admitted that his forces were responsible for the downing of the plane. In a statement on Wednesday, he called for an "international investigation" to determine "all the hard facts" surrounding the incident.

The closest step to an admission of guilt came from Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the GUR. In a statement on Wednesday night, the agency claimed that it "was not informed about the need to ensure the safety of the airspace" over the border, and that it did not know how the prisoners would be transported.

The White House has not commented on the alleged use of Patriot missiles in the incident. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that the US was "not in a position to confirm" any reports on the attack, and was working to "get more clarity and more information on it."

The meeting at the UN Security Council has since taken place. Reading the minutes from the meeting shows many speakers brushed off the downing of the plane by blaming Russia for the conflict.

SC/1557225 JANUARY 2024 United Nations Not in Position to Verify Reports as Moscow, Kyiv Separately Investigate 24 January Russian Military Plane Crash, Political Chief Tells Security Council

Both sides are conducting separate investigations into the downing of a Russian military aircraft in the Belgorod region on 24 January 2023, the United Nations senior political official told the Security Council today, as numerous delegates underscored that the incident occurred in the context of Moscow's war of aggression.

"The United Nations is not in a position to verify [the] reports or the circumstances of the crash," said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. According to Moscow, the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six Russian crew members and three Russian military personnel. According to Kyiv, the plane may have been carrying missiles for the Russian Federation military system.

If someone wanted to make the situation in Ukraine, and the Eurasian continent more difficult what options would they have? Who might have a motive?