Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, said Russia is not taking care of Ukrainian prisoners. He said this after a plane crash in western Russia that killed people.
He asked for a worldwide investigation after the crash on Wednesday in the Belgorod region, near Ukraine’s border.
Russia reported that everyone on board the Il-76 plane, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six Russian crew members, and three escorts, did not survive after it was shot down by Kyiv.
Moscow said that Ukrainians were being flown for a prisoner swap.
Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) said it wasn’t asked to make sure the sky was safe, like they have before.
The GUR comments suggest that Ukraine may have shot down the military transport plane. However, they are not sure who was on board and think Russia may have been involved in causing the incident.
In a video on Wednesday, President Zelensky said the Russians are messing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners and their families, and with our society’s emotions.
The leader of Ukraine, who was going to take a trip for his birthday, has decided not to go. He said it’s important to find out all the facts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the shooting down of the plane as a terrible act, reported by Russian news agencies. He said that if Mr Zelensky wants an investigation by the world, to look into the crimes of the government in Kyiv, it is necessary.
A video on social media showed a plane crashing and then there was a big explosion and fire near the village of Yablonovo, about 70km away from the city of Belgorod. It happened around 11:00am local time.
Belgorod’s leader, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the plane crashed in a field near houses and that everyone on board had died.
Ukraine’s military leaders said at first that the plane was carrying missiles for Russia’s air defense systems. This was reported by the Ukrainska Pravda website. It didn’t talk about prisoners of war.
We can’t confirm the information about the people on the plane, but Ukraine’s military intelligence said Russia is responsible for keeping their soldiers safe as agreed.
It said it didn’t know the airspace had to be protected at the specific time, even though this had happened many times before.
“This may show that Russia is intentionally trying to endanger the lives and safety of the prisoners of war,” it said.
Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners several times since the war began.
The head of the Ukrainian air force, Mykola Oleschuk, said that on Wednesday, Russian propaganda had tried to make Ukraine look bad to the rest of the world. Ukraine was allowed to destroy Russia’s ability to attack from the air, he said.
Russia has continued to attack Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, with guided missiles from the Belgorod region in the past few days.
Eight people died when missiles were fired on Tuesday. Then, there was another attack on Thursday night.
Tag: Ukraine’s military intelligence
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Russia put lives at danger in the downed aircraft – Zelensky
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Ukraine war: Russian internal drone strike on Pskov airbase
The chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence said that the drone attack on an airbase in the Russian city of Pskov was done from inside Russia.
Kyrylo Budanov said that two Ilyushin cargo planes were broken and two were harmed. Russia says four things were broken.
Mr Budanov did not indicate if the attack was done by people from Ukraine or Russia.
Ukraine’s drones attack Russia nearly every day. It had already accepted responsibility for the Pskov attack.
However, Budanov’s remarks suggest that the cause of the incident was not a long-range weapon.
On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a weapon made in Ukraine successfully hit a target 700km away. Pskov is quite far away from the Ukrainian border, about 700km (434 miles) apart.
“We are operating from Russia,” Mr. Budanov said on Thursday to the War Zone website, but he did not mention the specific type or amount of drones used.
He said the drones attacked the parts of the aircraft that hold the fuel and an important part of the wing.
The broken planes are big cargo planes that can carry soldiers and equipment over long distances. These planes are very important in war for Russia.
According to BBC reporter Paul Adams, Ukrainian officials usually don’t talk much about attacks that happen in Russia. However, it seems that as the campaign continues to develop, officials in Kyiv are becoming more willing to say that these things are part of Ukraine’s war efforts.
Last night, drones attacked different places in Russia and the attacks are still ongoing.
There are reports that a factory near Moscow was hit. This factory makes electronic parts for rockets. However, these reports have not been confirmed yet.
But, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the drones that were flying over Lyubertsy were brought down without causing any harm or injuries.
Like past attacks in Moscow, several flights from Moscow airports were postponed or canceled on Friday morning.
The Governor of Kursk Region, Roman Starovoyt, said that two buildings were damaged in the town of Kurchatov, near the Kursk nuclear plant.
Ukraine is still pushing back against Russia’s occupation of its land.
The Institute for the Study of War said that progress was made near Bakhmut in the east, and in the west of Zaporizhzhia region.