No evidence of Ukrainians on board
Putin: US missile hit military plane
January 31, 2024, 8:20 p.m
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After a successful prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, Putin spoke on television about the crash of the military plane last week. The Kremlin chief claims an American Patriot missile hit the Ilyushin-76.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crash of a Russian military plane in which, according to Russian sources, 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed was caused by a US-made Patriot missile. “The plane was shot down by an American Patriot system, that has already been proven for sure,” Putin claimed during a televised appearance in Moscow. The shooting took place from an area controlled by Ukrainian troops.
Putin said he believed it was an accident. “But it is still a crime. A crime of negligence,” he emphasized. Kiev wanted to “provoke” Russia to react. Russia insists on an investigation by international experts, Putin said. But he immediately rowed back: “But there are no organizations that want to do that,” he claimed.
Around a week after the crash near the Ukrainian border, many questions remain unanswered. Moscow says Ukrainian forces shot down the military plane carrying a total of 74 people, including military officials and crew members.
Ukraine has not commented on the shooting allegation
According to Russian information, the 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war should have been brought back to their homeland in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine. So far, the Russian side has not yet provided any evidence – neither that there were actually Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, nor that Kiev knew this.
Ukraine has not directly responded to allegations of involvement in the incident. However, doubts arose from Kiev that there were actually Ukrainian soldiers on board the plane. However, the authorities in Kiev confirmed that a prisoner exchange was planned on the day of the crash, which ultimately did not take place. Ukraine had also called for an international investigation into the crash.
Before Putin’s speech, Moscow and Kiev had each announced an exchange of around 200 prisoners – despite the tensions after the crash of the military plane. “We’re not stopping the exchanges. We have our own men that we have to bring back,” Putin said.