Plane carrying Ukrainian POWs was shot down by Patriot - Putin

RT
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 22:14 UTC

© Global Look Press / Sebastian Gollnow

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers reload a Patriot air defense system during a training exercise, December 1, 2023.

The Russian president has said he does not understand why Kiev would attack an aircraft carrying its own servicemen

Kiev's forces used an air defense system supplied by Washington to attack a Russian aircraft carrying Ukrainian POWs for a pre-scheduled swap, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

The attack, which took place last week, led to the deaths of 65 Ukrainians on board, as well as the plane's crew and three Russian military personnel.

"The plane was downed... by a US-made Patriot system," Putin said, calling it a "well established" fact that had been confirmed by an expert review. Russian emergency services had previously stated that fragments of one or more missiles had been found at the crash site.

Investigators have not officially commented on the results of the ongoing probe into the incident. However sources close to the investigation told TASS that an analysis of the plane's black box data showed that it had been intentionally shot down. A source also told the news agency that it was "highly probable" that a US-supplied Patriot surface-to-air missile system was used in the attack.

Last week, a French military source told the nation's state broadcaster Radio France that Kiev's forces used a Patriot missile to down the plane. The Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian military of being behind the attack soon after the incident, adding that Kiev was well aware of the fact that the aircraft was carrying Ukrainian POWs.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Wednesday disputed Moscow's version and called for an international probe into the incident. On Wednesday, Putin also said that Russia would call for an international investigation into the downed aircraft.

"I state this officially: We ask for international experts to be deployed [here] to conduct an analysis, assess the existing material evidence of the fact that the plane was downed by the Patriot system," he stated.

The Russian president added that he does not understand why the Ukrainian military would do something like this, saying, "one can assume they did it by accident," though it constitutes a "crime in any case."

According to Putin, the attack could have been a provocation aimed at prompting a response from Russia. However, Moscow will not stop the POW exchanges with Kiev, he said, as Russia wants to bring its own soldiers back home.

Comment: Another article from the same source: US-supplied missile downed plane carrying Ukainian POWs - media has:

There is "a high probability" that Kiev's troops used a US-supplied Patriot surface-to-air missile system to down a Russian military transport plane carrying Ukrainian POWs last week, a source close to the investigation into the incident told TASS on Wednesday.

Separately, another source in the Russian emergency services has revealed that "the preliminary examination of the striking elements found in the plane shows that the missile [that hit it] belongs to a Western-made air defense system," according to RIA Novosti. The source, however, did not specify the weapons complex.

[...]

Data from the aircraft's black boxes "excludes all other possible versions of the Il-76 crash and confirms that the plane was subjected to external influence," the source said, adding that it was "shot down in the air."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has refused to acknowledge that Kiev's forces were responsible for bringing down the plane, and has called for an international investigation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow will not close off its own probe into the crash from those who "want to learn the truth." He also criticized the West for not initiating the inquiry called for by Zelensky, claiming that Ukraine's "masters... generally dislike international investigations."

To the last point Ukraine's "masters... generally dislike international investigations." Lavrov might be referring to for the Nord Stream bombing, which excluded Russia, with others like Sweden refusing to share what they knew.

See also:

• Belgorod plane attack: Kiev deliberately shot down plane carrying its POWs, Moscow says
• Ukrainian military comments on Belgorod plane attack
• 65 Ukrainian POWs killed in Russian plane crash - MOD