The security services of Ukraine (SBU) have opened a criminal investigation to determine the cause of the accident of the Russian military transport plane Il-76 that crashed this Wednesday in Belgorodaccording to Moscow with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.
(Also: They find black boxes from the crashed Russian Il-76 plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners)
This was confirmed by sources from this institution to several Ukrainian media outlets, including the agency Ukrinform.
(You can read: Video: the versions about the Russian Il-76 military plane that crashed, what is known?)
The SBU press service told this media that The investigation is being carried out under the cover of article 438 of the Ukrainian criminal code, which corresponds to the commission of war crimes..
The SBU is taking a series of measures to clarify all the circumstances related to the accident, 'Ukrinform' added.
(Keep reading: Russia accuses Ukraine of shooting down a plane with 74 occupants, including 65 prisoners)
The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mikola Oleshchuk, described Moscow's statements this morning as a “false flow of information” and stated that These aim to “discredit Ukraine before the international community”.
Moments after the plane was shot down.
Kiev has not confirmed, for the moment, whether Ukrainian prisoners of war were actually traveling on board the Il-76 or whether the plane was shot down by Ukrainian forces, but Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) acknowledged last night that the carrying out a prisoner exchange.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, asked the opening of an “international investigation” and accused Moscow of being “playing with the lives of the captive (Ukrainian soldiers) and their families and with the emotions of Ukrainian society.”.
(Also: Emergency meeting requested at the UN Security Council due to downed Russian plane)
Russian rescue teams announced this Thursday the discovery of the plane's black boxes in the region bordering Ukraine.
“According to preliminary data, the condition of both black boxes will allow them to be decrypted. They will be transported on a special flight to a Ministry of Defense laboratory (in Moscow), where their contents will be analyzed,” an emergency spokesperson told the TASS agency.
What is known about the accident?
According to Moscow, The aircraft was transporting Ukrainian prisoners to be exchanged for Russian soldiers held by the Ukrainian army at the Kolotílovka border post..
Six crew members and three escorts were also traveling on the plane, which had taken off from an airfield on the outskirts of Moscow and was due to land at another near Belgorod, the regional capital.
(You can read: With 80 planes, 50 ships and 1,100 vehicles, NATO begins new military maneuvers)
View of the destruction after a Russian attack in Odessa (Ukraine).
Oleksandr GIMANOV / AFP
The Kremlin assured this Thursday that, After the “monstrous act” committed by kyiv, the future of prisoner exchanges is “in question”. But so far Russia has not provided evidence of the number or identity of the passengers, or that Ukraine knew who was on board the plane.
The last major prisoner exchange took place on January 3, when Ukraine handed over 248 Russian soldiers to Russia in exchange for 230 Ukrainian soldiers.
(Also: Maritime traffic in the Red Sea fell 22% due to Houthi attacks, according to the EU)
In kyiv they knew very well that an exchange would occur and knew the route by which the prisoners would be transported. The attack on the plane was a deliberate and conscious action.
The plane was then hit by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile launched from the Kharkiv border region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
Both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia considered that It was a “terrorist act” committed by kyiv against its own people.
“In kyiv they knew very well that an exchange would occur and they knew the route by which the prisoners would be transported. The attack on the plane was a deliberate and conscious action,” according to Russian Foreign Affairs.
(Also: The 'dexit', the proposal with which the AfD seeks to remove Germany from the European Union)
The director of Russian state television RTMargarita Simonián, published this Wednesday a list with 65 full names and dates of birth of Ukrainian prisoners who were on board the crashed plane.
According to Russian and Ukrainian sources, Some of those soldiers were captured in the spring of 2022, shortly after the start of the war (February of that year), and had been waiting their turn to be exchanged since last summer.when exchanges between Russia and Ukraine were interrupted for almost half a year.
Moscow also called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to address the Il-76 crash.
France, as acting president of the Council, announced that the highest body will meet on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT) to discuss the accident of the Russian plane.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine, meanwhile, requested this Thursday that the UN and the Red Cross access the site of the crash of the Russian military plane. Its human rights commissioner Dmitro Lubinets, one of the people in charge of the prisoner exchanges, asked the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday to travel to “inspect the site” of the accident.
However, Lubinets said he was “convinced” that Moscow will not authorize “anyone (…) to see the place”.
(You can read: Russia launched more than forty missiles against Ukraine that caused 5 deaths)
The Ukrainian human rights commissioner noted that, in any case, Russia was “responsible for the safety” of the detainees under the Geneva Convention.
Lubinets added that “there is nothing to indicate that there were so many people on board.” “For me, it is a clear example of Russia planning a propaganda campaign against Ukraine,” he said on social media.
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With information from EFE and AFP
#Ukrainian #secret #services #investigate #crash #Russian #IL76 #military #plane
