Both Kyiv and Moscow are calling for an international probe into the downing of a Russian transport plane that was reportedly carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war when it crashed in Russia’s western Belgorod region.
“We demand a recognized international investigation,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliament commissioner for human rights, said on Jan. 25.
“We will do our part to make this happen,” he added in televised remarks.
Mr. Lubinets’ appeal came one day after a Russian Il-76 military transport plane was downed near Russia’s western city of Belgorod, killing everyone aboard.
Shortly after the incident, Russian officials claimed that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, along with six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers, had been aboard the ill-fated aircraft.
According to Moscow, the plane had been heading to a border checkpoint near Belgorod, where the prisoners were to be traded for Russian soldiers held by Ukraine.
Kyiv, for its part, has since confirmed that a prisoner swap had been planned for the afternoon of Jan. 24.
Russia’s defense ministry claims the plane was downed by Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire originating in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, which borders Belgorod to the south.
According to the defense ministry, Russian radar systems detected the launch of two Ukrainian missiles in Kharkiv at the time of the incident.
“Ukrainian air defenses downed the plane carrying Ukrainian POWs who were to be traded for our guys,” Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma’s defense committee, told reporters on Jan. 25.
“We need an extensive international probe to find out whose air-defense system was used and who gave the order [to shoot down the plane],” he added.
Officials in Kyiv, meanwhile, have neither confirmed nor denied whether Ukrainian forces were responsible for downing the plane.
But official Ukrainian sources had earlier stated that they thought the plane had been carrying munitions for a Russian S-300 air-defense system.
Ukrainian officials have also challenged Moscow’s assertion that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners had been aboard the doomed aircraft.
“I cannot say positively that there were indeed prisoners of war [aboard the plane],” Mr. Lubinets said.
“We did not see any indication that there were such a large number of people on the plane,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said details of the incident were still unclear, especially in terms of who was aboard.
Speaking on the evening of Jan. 24, he accused Russia of “playing with the lives” of Ukrainian prisoners.
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR), Moscow failed to request airspace security over Belgorod in advance of the planned prisoner swap.
“On this basis, we may be talking about planned and deliberate actions by Russia to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for our state,” the agency said in a social-media post.
The GUR further asserted that the landing of transport planes in combat zones “cannot be safe and … must be discussed by both sides.”
Otherwise, the agency said, it would “jeopardize the entire [prisoner] exchange process.”
Mr. Kartapolov, for his part, dismissed the assertions, saying Kyiv had been “officially notified” of the plane’s impending arrival.
“Fifteen minutes before the plane entered the region, they were given all the information,” he said.
Receipt of the relevant information, he added, was “confirmed by the [Ukrainian] Intelligence Directorate.”
Mr. Kartapolov, who is known to be close to Russia’s defense ministry, also ruled out the possibility that Ukrainian air defense operators could mistake transport planes for military aircraft or attack helicopters.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify claims made by either side.
Security Council to Convene
In recent months, Russia’s Belgorod region has come under frequent attack by Ukrainian forces stationed in neighboring Kharkiv.In late December, 25 civilians were killed in Belgorod when Ukrainian forces targeted border areas with missiles, rockets, and bomb-laden drones.
Russia quickly responded with missile strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv that left at least five people dead and caused significant material damage.
Ukraine’s military, meanwhile, has vowed to continue targeting Russian transport aircraft that it believes to be carrying arms and munitions.
“Ukraine has the right to defend itself and destroy the means of the aggressors’ aerial attacks,” Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of Ukraine’s air force, said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what he called “this criminal act by Ukraine.”
According to a U.N. spokesman, the council will convene to discuss the issue on the evening of Jan. 25.
