There are shooting wars and there are information wars and the countries that are at war fight on both fronts.
For the rest of us, it can be very difficult to establish the facts.
But while that is true in this war, as in any other, it is important to remember that Russia specifically has a long history of outright lies and disinformation.
This was demonstrated by the downing of MH17 and the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, England, to name just two major incidents in the last decade.
Even the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched on a lie: the false claim that a “Nazi” regime was putting that country's Russian speakers at risk of “genocide.”
That does not mean that all the words of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Kremlin are false, or those of parliamentarians and state media.
But they often are, so you need to check them carefully before repeating them.
This time, reports that an Il-76 transport plane had crashed first appeared in Russian state news agencies.
They quoted the Defense Ministry in Moscow as saying that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the flight, en route to a prisoner exchange.
Kyiv did not confirm this and no evidence was presented in Russia.
A Russian parliamentarian, Andrei Kartapolov, began expanding on the statement almost immediately, even suggesting that Ukraine may have used a Patriot missile to attack the Ilyushin plane.
That would mean a weapon supplied by the West: a big claim, with so far no evidence to back it up.
As those claims grew louder and spread around the world, Ukraine remained silent.
The noise from Russia inevitably filled the silence.
In Kyiv we began to hear rumors that a prisoner exchange was planned for Wednesday, and then a source confirmed it. But no one in Kyiv would say it officially.
Everyone we called for information told us “not yet,” “we're checking information,” or “just wait.” For eight hours there was nothing.
That didn't stop Russia's speculation, including wild claims that Ukraine had killed its own soldiers on purpose.
The supposed rationale for this is so twisted that it is not worth repeating.
But dismissing such comments does not mean dismissing the possibility that Ukraine has made a terrible mistake. After all, we know that the plane went down and that Ukraine has the capacity to do it.
At first, the Ukrainska Pravda news website quoted an armed forces source as saying it was “their job” and that the plane was carrying Russian S300 missiles. A success, in other words.
This was later corrected, saying that the source had not been corroborated.
On Wednesday afternoon we finally received two official statements.
They were from the Ukrainian General Staff and Military Intelligence, and together they amount to an acknowledgment that Ukraine may have shot down the plane, although neither said so directly.
Ukraine emphasizes that it does not have reliable information about who was on board.
But he did confirm that a prisoner exchange was planned for Wednesday and that it did not occur.
He also said Russia normally provides information about the route and transportation that will be used for an exchange, to ensure it is safe.
This time, Ukraine says, there was none of that.
The statement from the General Staff was equivalent to a justification for shooting at a plane of these characteristics, without openly saying what it did.
Russia has recently increased its missile attacks from Belgorod, especially in Kharkiv, where it has killed and wounded dozens of civilians.
Transport planes, like the one that crashed Wednesday morning, deliver weapons that are then flown across the border.
So now there are some answers, more hints, and lots of affirmations. But questions still remain.
We still can't be sure who or what was on the plane that crashed. We don't know how much officials here in Kyiv know and don't say.
If there were Ukrainian soldiers on board the transport plane, at some point Russia will have to provide evidence. And Ukraine will have to give full answers.
Because there are thousands of families across the country who have relatives as prisoners of war in Russia and who are now waiting with great concern.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/crgrzx24elro, IMPORTING DATE: 2024-01-25 13:37:05
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