Russia called for an emergency session of the Security Council today, at 3:00 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT), after accusing Ukraine of the downing of a Il-76 military transport aircraftaccording to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference at the UN.
According to the official version from Moscow, 65 Ukrainian soldiers – prisoners who were to be exchanged for Russian troops captured by Kiev -, three Russian guards and six crew members died in the incident.
Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down a military plane it said was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for an exchange.
The IL-76 plane crashed in the Russian region of Belgorod Wednesday and there were no survivors, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said in a statement. Among the fatalities are six crew members and three Russian soldiers. Russian radar systems tracked the launch of two missiles from the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, the ministry said.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russia was using the airfield Belgorod to intensify attacks against the Kharkiv region and promised “continue taking measures to destroy launch means and control airspace”. Officials did not directly comment on whether their troops shot down the plane.
Previously, the Ukrainskaya Pravda news website reported that the military believed the Russian plane was carrying a shipment of S-300 air defense missiles.
Andrei Kartopolov, a top Russian lawmaker and head of the defense committee, previously told the Lower House that Ukraine shot down the plane with U.S. Patriot or German-made IRIS-T missiles. A second IL-76 plane with another 80 Ukrainian prisoners on board turned around and escaped the attack, he said.
An investigation team was sent to the crash site, state news service Tass reported, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
A prisoner exchange was planned for Wednesday on the border between Ukraine and Russia, and the Ukrainian side knew that the prisoners would be taken on military planes to Belgorod airport, the ministry said. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that a prisoner exchange was scheduled for that day.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged nearly 500 prisoners earlier this month, the largest swap since the invasion began in February 2022. Ukraine handed over 248 Russian prisoners for 230 Ukrainian military and civilians, according to announcements from both sides that also highlighted mediation by the United Arab Emirates in the negotiation process.
Over the past week, Russia attacked the Kharkiv region 19 times with more than two dozen missiles, claiming the lives of 16 people and destroying residential and other civilian buildings, the Ukrainian military said in its statement.
With information from Bloomberg and EFE
Source: Gestion
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