24 Jan, 2024 12:29
Belgorod plane attack: Kiev deliberately shot down plane carrying its POWs, Moscow says
74 people, including 65 Ukrainian service members, were killed in the crash in Belgorod Region
Kiev's forces knowingly downed a Russian plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war that crashed on Wednesday, killing all on board, in order to pin the attack on Moscow, the Defense Ministry has said, adding that Kiev had once again shown its โtrue colorsโ.
In a statement following the incident, the ministry revealed that a Russian IL-76 cargo plane had crashed in Belgorod Region, claiming the lives of 65 Ukrainian POWs, as well as six crew members and three Russian soldiers.
The Defense Ministry claimed that the โKiev regime committed a terrorist actโ by targeting the plane, which was transporting POWs for a further prisoner exchange, from the Chkalovsky military airbase near Moscow to Belgorod.
Russian officials stated that the plane had been hit at 11:15am local time byUkrainian air defense forcesstationed in Kharkov Region, adding thatthe military had registered the launch of two missiles.
Confirming that everyone aboard was killed in the attack, the ministry said that theUkrainian leadership was well aware of the flight and its mission. It noted that Moscow andKiev had agreed to conduct a prisoner exchangelater on Wednesday near the Russian border village of Kolotilovka in Belgorod Region.
Nevertheless, the Nazi Kiev regime [carried out this attack] in a bid to accuse Russia of killing members of the Ukrainian military. By committing this terrorist act, the Ukrainian leadership showed its true face, disregarding the lives of its citizens.
Russian officials stated earlier that the attack used either US-made or German air defense systems, with State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin urging Kievโs Western backers to finally realize that they are backing a โNazi regime.โ
Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov said a second plane had been carrying another 80 captured Ukrainian troops, which was swiftly diverted from the danger zone after the first aircraft was attacked.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has so far declined to comment on the incident, saying only that it was looking into the matter. However, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for Kievโs Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR), confirmed that Russia and Ukraine were indeed scheduled to carry out a prisoner exchange on Wednesday, adding that it had since been canceled.
Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda initially reported, citing unnamed defense officials in Kiev, that the Il-76 was destroyed by the countryโs military. Later, however, it removed the mention of Kievโs role in the attack.
https://www.rt.com/russia/591206-ukraine-deliberately-shot-down-plane/
24 Jan, 2024 12:24
Time for West to realize it is helping Nazis โ top Russian MP
Moscow officials have claimed that Kiev downed a plane carrying its own POWs using German or US-made air defense missiles
US and German lawmakers must finally realize that by sending weapons to Kiev, they are helping a โNazi regimeโ that has stooped to knowingly killing dozens of its own prisoners of war, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said on Wednesday.
The lawmakerโs comments came shortly after the Russian Defense Ministry reported the crash of an IL-76 cargo aircraft carrying 65 captured Ukrainian service members, as well as several crew and accompanying personnel, in Belgorod Region bordering Ukraine. The soldiers were being transported to the area to be exchanged, officials said.
Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov claimed that Kiev knew about the impending exchange and the flight route, but attacked the plane anyway. He stated that theIL-76 had been downed by three missiles fired from either a US-made Patriot or German-made IRIS-T air defensesystem, and suggested that further prisoner exchanges were out of the question for the time being.
Commenting on the tragedy, Volodin advised the Russian parliament to draft an appeal to the US Congress and German Bundestag, so that those lawmakers could โfinally understand who they are funding.โ
โThis is a Nazi regime, nurtured by [US President Joe] Biden, [French President Emmanuel] Macron, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholzโฆ they must understand their responsibility,โ he added, urging Western legislators to impeach the aforementioned leaders.
Volodin claimed that Kiev had shot down its own troops in mid-flight: โTheir mothers, wives, and children were waiting for them. They also killed our pilotsโฆ defenseless, who were on a humanitarian mission, using American and German missiles.โ
https://www.rt.com/russia/591204-west-helping-ukraine-nazis/