On Thursday, the Kremlin condemned Ukraine’s “monstrous act” after the crash of a Russian military plane, for which it blamed Kyiv.
“The fact that they killed their own prisoners, their own citizens who were practically supposed to return home in 24 hours, is a monstrous act,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
According to Moscow, the plane that crashed on Wednesday 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, in the Russian region of Belgorod, was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war for exchange.
Russia said there were no survivors after Kiev shot down an Il-76 plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six Russian crew members and three passengers.
“No one can say what impact this will have on the prospects for prolonging the process” of exchanging prisoners, Peskov warned.
Kiev has neither confirmed nor denied that the plane was shot down by Ukrainian weapons, as claimed by Moscow.
On Thursday, the Security Council is meeting urgently due to the case at Moscow’s request.
As reported by the BBC on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners”.
He demanded an international investigation after the accident.
Ukraine’s military intelligence service said it had not been told to ensure safe airspace, as it had on previous occasions.
In his video address late on Wednesday, President Zelenskyi said that “it is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their relatives and with the emotions of our society.”
A video shared on social media shows the crash of the plane followed by an explosion and fireball near the village of Jablonovo, 70 km northeast of the city of Belgorod.
Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the plane crashed into a field near a residential area and that everyone on board was killed.
The Ukrainian General Staff, cited by Ukrainska Pravda, said initially that the plane was carrying missiles for the Russian S-300 air defense systems. He did not mention prisoners of war.
