The bodies of persons killed in the crash of a Russian military transport plane—whom Moscow claims were Ukraine prisoners of war—are at the center of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In televised remarks late on Thursday, a Ukrainian intelligence official stated that Kyiv has urged Moscow to turn over the bodies of those killed in the crash on January 24, which Russia has blamed on Ukraine. He claimed that Moscow had declined.
The military intelligence spokesperson, Andrii Yusov, reaffirmed Kyiv’s demand for an international probe into the crash over the Russian region of Belgorod to ascertain whether the cargo plane was carrying passengers or weapons in addition to its crew.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, informed the official RIA Novosti news agency on Friday that the Kremlin had not received a request from Ukraine to turn over the bodies.
Putin declared this week that Russia would not only welcome but also “demand” an international investigation into the downing of the plane, labeling the accident as a “crime” by Ukraine.
Russia claims that Ukraine’s forces shot down an Ilyushin Il-76 plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners; It has neither confirmed nor denied this claim. The claims made by Russia regarding the prisoners could not be independently confirmed.
The main state criminal investigation body in Russia, the Investigative Committee, claimed that the US-made Patriot missile defense system, which Kyiv had received from Western allies for the war against Russia, was the reason behind the plane’s downing.
The committee reported that it had found 116 pieces of two missiles that had been fired from a Patriot system close to the village of Lyptsi in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, which is across the border from Belgorod. It featured a video that appeared to show some missile fragments with markings that were supposed to identify their origin lying in the snow.
Additionally, it claimed to have identified every crash victim.
According to Russian officials, there were seventy-four people on board, including three Russian servicemen, six crew members, and 65 Ukrainian POWs who were all killed.
Notwithstanding the catastrophe, the two nations exchanged 195 prisoners on Wednesday.
The nearly two-year-old conflict between Russia and Ukraine rages on, with Russia using drones and missiles to launch long-range attacks on Ukraine.
In the Black Sea, close to the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine claimed on Thursday to have attacked and destroyed a Russian warship using maritime drones.
A drone strike damaged an energy facility in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As a result, 100,000 recipients were left without electricity, and 113 coal miners were left stranded underground in two mines. All of the miners were rescued, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the defense council for the central city, once the power was partially restored.
Summary
- Ukrainian intelligence officials urged Moscow to turn over the bodies of Ukrainian victims of a Russian military transport plane crash.
- Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov reaffirmed Ukraine’s demand for an international probe into the crash.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia had not received a request from Ukraine to turn over the bodies.
- Russia claims that Ukraine’s forces shot down an Ilyushin Il-76 plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners.
- The Investigative Committee in Russia claimed that the US-made Patriot missile defense system was the reason behind the plane’s downing.
- The committee found 116 pieces of two missiles fired from a Patriot system near Lyptsi in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
- Despite the tragedy, the two nations exchanged 195 prisoners on Wednesday.
- The conflict continues with Russia using drones and missiles to launch long-range attacks on Ukraine.
