Published January 25,2024
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A senior Russian lawmaker mentioned Ukrainian army intelligence had been given a 15-minute warning earlier than a Russian army transport aircraft carrying Ukrainian prisoners of struggle entered an space the place it was shot down on Wednesday.
Russia accuses Ukraine of downing the aircraft, killing all 74 folks on board, together with 65 captured Ukrainian troopers en path to be swapped for Russian POWs. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied Russia’s assertion, however has demanded a global investigation.
“The Ukrainian side was officially warned, and 15 minutes before the plane entered the zone they were given complete information, which they received and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed receipt of,” Andrei Kartapolov informed fellow lawmakers, in response to the ruling United Russia celebration.
“We all know very well what happened next,” added Kartapolov, a former basic with shut hyperlinks to the defence ministry who now heads Russia’s parliamentary defence committee.
His assertion immediately contradicted a press release by Ukrainian army intelligence that Russia had not knowledgeable it concerning the flight preparations.
Conflicting narratives from each side are a day by day characteristic of a struggle now nearing the top of its second 12 months. But the stakes are particularly excessive in relation to Wednesday’s incident, the deadliest of its type to happen on Russia’s personal internationally recognised territory.
Moscow has framed the downing of the Ilyushin-76 army transport aircraft in Russia’s southwestern Belgorod area, close to the border with Ukraine, as a Ukrainian “terrorist act”.
INVESTIGATION
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned on Wednesday that larger readability was wanted about what occurred, significantly when it got here to who was on board, and he accused Russia of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners”.
He known as for a global investigation, an enchantment echoed on Thursday by Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
“Regarding an international investigation, I believe that we will do our part to make it happen. But I am convinced that… the Russians will make loud statements but will not allow anyone in. They will not hand over any materials for analysis and will simply blame Ukraine,” Lubinets informed nationwide tv.
Russia has sole entry to the location of the crash, the place TV footage confirmed particles scattered over snowy fields. Its state news company TASS mentioned the aircraft’s black packing containers had been recovered and could be flown to Moscow for examination at a defence ministry laboratory.
Ukraine’s GUR army intelligence company confirmed on Wednesday {that a} PoW swap had been attributable to happen, however mentioned it had not been informed how Russia would deliver the prisoners to the handover level.
It additionally mentioned Ukraine had not been requested to make sure airspace safety round Belgorod – not like the preparations for earlier swaps.
The United Nations Security Council was attributable to convene at 2200 GMT on Thursday in response to a Russian name for a gathering to ascertain “the reasons behind the Ukrainian criminal act”.
Source: www.anews.com.tr