Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has refuted Moscow’s assertion that a Russian plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war was shot down by Kiev’s air defenses.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the Il-76 aircraft, which also had six Russian crew members and three officials on board, was downed by a Ukrainian missile over the Belgorod Region.
Zelensky emphasized the need to establish all the facts surrounding the incident, acknowledging the challenge of investigating a crash that occurred on Russian territory. He stated that Ukraine is conducting its own investigation and is determined to determine the fate of all prisoners of war.
Zelensky also called for an international investigation and accused Moscow of endangering the lives of Ukrainian POWs.
However, he did not assign blame for the destruction of the IL-76. Initially, some Ukrainian media outlets and journalists reported that the plane was carrying missiles and had been shot down by Ukrainian troops.
These reports were retracted after Russia disclosed that the aircraft was transporting Ukrainian captives.
The Russian Ministry of Defense asserted that Kiev was aware that the prisoners would be transported on a military plane to an airfield near Belgorod for an exchange. On the other hand, the Ukrainian General Staff claimed that Russia had been using transport planes to supply Belgorod with missiles for attacks on Kharkov, making the planes legitimate military targets. The statement from the Ukrainian General Staff did not mention the prisoners.
Russia has made a formal request to hold an immediate gathering of the United Nations Security Council in order to address the recent incident. Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, expressed his concerns to the press, stating that the Ukrainian media has been vigorously attempting to fabricate alternative narratives ever since the details about the passengers of the ill-fated flight were disclosed.
France, currently holding the presidency of the council, has indicated the possibility of scheduling a session for Thursday afternoon.
