‘MONSTROUS ACT’: KREMLIN DESCRIBES CRASH OF PLANE WITH UKRAINIAN PRISONERS

Aircraft debris following deadly Russian plane crash in Belgorod region with 65 Ukrainian POWs on board.

Thu 25 January 2024:

On Thursday, Russia once more accused Ukraine with downing a Russian military plane while it was its route to swap prisoners, calling the incident “a monstrous act.”

“Ukrainians killed their citizens, who were supposed to be home within a day, this is a monstrous act,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press briefing in Moscow.

He agreed that an international investigation is necessary to clarify what caused the Wednesday crash of the Il-76 military plane in Belgorod, Russia, near Ukraine’s border, which killed all 74 people on board.

WATCH | Russian plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed in Belgorod pic.twitter.com/rpcvzvNjFW

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) January 24, 2024

Asked about the prospects for further prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, he said: “No one knows how the catastrophe will affect it.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday accused Ukraine of shooting down a plane carrying captured Ukrainian servicemen for a prisoner exchange.

There were 65 captured Ukrainian armed forces servicemen on board, six crew members of the aircraft, and three escorts. The crew and all the passengers on the plane were killed, it said, calling what happened “a terrorist attack” mounted in order to accuse Russia of killing Ukrainian servicemen.

Ukrainian authorities were “well aware of the planned transportation” in advance, the ministry stressed.

Russian plane carrying 65 Ukrainian PoWs has crashed, Moscow says

Ministry says aircraft that crashed in border region of Belgorod was carrying prisoners who were to be swapped pic.twitter.com/yavjituAhv

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) January 24, 2024

Ukraine insist on international probe

In a statement on Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he summoned Ukraine’s military and intelligence chiefs over the incident, adding that the security service of Ukraine is investigating all the circumstances

“It is obvious that the Russians are messing with the lives of Ukrainian captives, the feelings of their relatives, and the emotions of our society. All clear facts must be established … The aircraft crashed on Russian territory – beyond our control. “Facts” is the key word now,” he stressed.

“I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to provide our partners with the information available to Ukraine. Our state will insist on an international investigation,” he said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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