Putin told who and why shot down the Russian Il-76 with Ukrainians on board

Ukrainians shot down a Russian Il-76 military aircraft in the Belgorod region with their own soldiers on board, using the American Patriot system. This was established by an examination, Russian President Vladimir said at a meeting in Gostiny Dvor.

“The Ukrainian armed forces shot down our plane, an Il-76, which was carrying 65 of their own servicemen intended for exchange,” Putin noted. He also wondered “why do they (Armed Forces of Ukraine – ed.) are shelling peaceful cities” and tried to answer it himself. According to him, the goal is “to divert the attention of our own population and sponsors from the failures of the so-called counter-offensive, to show that they can do something, to provoke us into retaliatory mirror actions for attacks on civilian and peaceful targets on the territory of Ukraine itself.”

According to Putin, Russia does not act this way. “What are we doing? We use high-precision long-range weapons to hit infrastructure, primarily military, and military industry, and they want to provoke us into retaliatory action,” the president clarified.

He also promised that Moscow would not stop prisoner exchanges with Ukraine. The proportions of prisoners of war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine are approximately 1 to 10, Putin added.

He also said that Russia will push back the demilitarized zone in Ukraine – in his opinion, it should be at such a distance that would ensure the safety of peaceful cities from shelling.

Referring to the situation in the Northern Military District zone, the Russian leader noted that “the men there are fighting properly.” According to him, a group of fighters from the “Veterans” airborne assault brigade went ahead of the regular troops, broke through the enemy’s defenses and went to the outskirts of the city, capturing 19 houses and holding them, the president added.