Senior Russian officials were due to fly aboard a military plane that crashed on Wednesday, killing some 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war – but were stopped “at the last minute” by their security services, according to Ukraine.
The claims come as gruesome new video clearly shows charred human remains at the scene of the plane crash, which Russia has blamed on Ukraine for downing as it flew to a prisoner exchange.
“It is known that there are indeed some VIPs from the military and political representatives of the aggressor countries who will fly with the Il-76,” Andrii Yusov, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, told Radio Svoboda.
“But at the last moment, the FSB [Russian Security Services] actually instructing them not to board the plane and use other means of transport,” he claimed.
“This information came to light after the incident happened.”
Yusov also claimed that officials from Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations who arrived to inspect the crash site in the Belgorod region were “kicked out” by FSB agents.
Ukraine says senior Russian officials were ordered by the FSB not to board the Il-76 military plane that crashed in Belgorod on Wednesday. RUSSIA INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE/AFP via Getty Images
“They were not given the opportunity to inspect the site and locate the debris, according to protocol,” the Ukrainian spokesman said.
A gruesome new video filmed at the crash site and released by Russia shows what appears to be charred human remains scattered on the snow-covered ground.
Russia claims there were 65 PoWs, six crew members and three security guards on board the troop transport when it was hit by a Ukrainian-made surface-to-air missile. Yusov from Ukraine said that only five bodies were sent from the wreckage site to the local morgue in Belgorod.
Kyiv neither confirmed nor denied shooting down the plane – but did not rule out that Russia used PoW as human shields.
65 POWs were killed on the flight. AP
Andrei Kartopolov, a former general with close ties to Russia’s defense ministry, told lawmakers on Thursday that Ukrainian military intelligence had been warned 15 minutes before the Il-76 entered the Belgorod zone – a claim Kyiv denied.
Yusov said that contrary to the practice before the previous PoW exchange, Ukrainian officials did not receive any request from Russia to hold fire in the airspace where the plane was downed.
“No evidence has been provided for the charges… Nothing has been shown to prove the debris and the presence of people on board,” he said.
A Russian official claimed Ukraine was given 15 minutes advance notice of the plane entering their zone. RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE Circulation/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Ukraine has used reconnaissance drones in the area, and Russia has launched attack drones, Yusov said. “There is no confirmed information” that Ukrainian forces have hit any targets, he said.
“Unfortunately, we can assume various scenarios, including provocation, as well as the use of Ukrainian prisoners as human shields to transport ammunition and weapons for the S-300 system,” he told Radio Svoboda.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said he believed the incident was a Russian “false flag” plot. He said the list of Ukrainian PoW victims, shared after the crash by a Russian news channel, included soldiers who had returned in previous exchanges.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
