Published 25 January 2024 at 08.41
Foreign. According to Russia, 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed when a Russian plane was shot down on Russian soil. Now Ukraine more or less openly admits that it shot down the plane, BBC News reports.
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After Wednesday's crash in the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, it accuses Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi Russia for “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners”.
He also demands an international investigation into the incident.
According to Russia, all on board died when Kiev shot down the Il-76 – the plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six Russian crew members and three escorts.
The Ukrainian prisoners were on their way to a prisoner exchange, according to the Kremlin.
Ukraine's military intelligence service says they did not, as on previous occasions, had been warned to establish a safe airspace.
In a video speech late Wednesday, Zelenskyy said it is “obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of the Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their relatives and with the feelings of our society”.
The comments from Ukraine's military intelligence service earlier on Wednesday are seen, according to BBC News, as “a tacit admission that it shot down the military transport plane”. However, the intelligence service states that it lacks reliable information about who was on board.