Senior Russian officials were due to fly on the doomed military plane that crashed on Wednesday, killing some 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but were detained “at the last moment” by its security services, according to Ukraine.
The claim came as gruesome new video showed apparent charred human remains at the scene of the crashed plane, which Russia has blamed Ukraine for shooting down while it was flying to a prisoner exchange.
“It is known that several personalities from the military and political representation of the aggressor state were supposed to fly on the Il-76,” Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, told Radio Svoboda.
“But at the last moment, the FSB [Russian Security Services] In fact, they were ordered not to board the plane and to use other means of transportation,” he said.
“This information came to light after the event occurred.”
Yusov also claimed that officials from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations who arrived to inspect the crash site in the Belgorod region were “expelled” by FSB officers.
Ukraine says the FSB ordered senior Russian officials not to board the Il-76 military plane that crashed in Belgorod on Wednesday. RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE/AFP via Getty Images
“They were not given the opportunity to inspect the site and locate the remains, according to protocol,” the Ukrainian spokesman said.
Gruesome new video recorded at the crash site and released by Russia showed what appeared to be charred human remains scattered across the snow-covered ground.
Russia claimed there were 65 prisoners of war, six crew members and three security guards aboard the military transport when it was hit by a Ukrainian-made surface-to-air missile. Ukraine’s Yusov said only five bodies were delivered from the remains site to the local morgue in Belgorod.
kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied the downing of the plane, but has not ruled out that Russia was using prisoners of war as human shields.
65 prisoners of war died on the flight. AP
Andrei Kartopolov, a former general with close ties to Russia’s Defense Ministry, told lawmakers on Thursday that Ukrainian military intelligence had received 15 minutes’ warning before the Il-76 plane entered the Belgorod area, claim that Kiev refuted.
Yusov said that, contrary to practice prior to previous prisoner-of-war exchanges, Ukrainian officials had not received requests from Russia to suspend fire in the airspace where the plane was shot down.
“No evidence has been provided for the charges… Nothing has been shown to prove the remains and the presence of people on board,” he said.
A Russian official said Ukraine was given 15 minutes’ notice that the plane was entering its area. BROCHURE OF THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Ukraine had been using reconnaissance drones in the area and Russia had launched attack drones, Yusov said. There was “no confirmed information” that Ukrainian forces had attacked any targets, he said.
“Unfortunately, we can assume several scenarios, including provocation, as well as the use of Ukrainian prisoners as a human shield for the transportation of ammunition and weapons for the S-300 systems,” he told Radio Svoboda.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said he believed the incident was a planned “false flag” plot by Russia. He said a list of Ukrainian POW victims, which was shared after the crash by Russian media, included soldiers who had already returned in a previous exchange.
With post cables
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn