from Sputnik
More than a day has passed since Wednesday morning’s downing of a Russian Il-76 transport plane full of Ukrainian PoWs near the Ukrainian border, with Kiev, Washington and Brussels silent following revelations by Russia’s Defense Ministry that the plane was struck by Ukrainian missiles. Sputnik asked Russian and Western observers what it all means.
In
a televised address to the nation Wednesday night, President Zelensky
said Ukrainian military intelligence would seek to “clarify the fates”
of PoWs presumed lost in the Il-76 crash, accusing Russia of "playing
with the[ir] lives" and calling for an “international investigation”
into the incident.
Earlier
in the day, Ukraine’s General Staff said it would “continue to take
measures to destroy the missile delivery means” used by Russia,
“including in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction,” and neither commented on
nor denied Ukrainian involvement in the Il-76’s downing.
Hours
before that, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman confirmed to
US media that a prisoner swap had been scheduled for Wednesday,
indicating that Kiev had direct knowledge of the Russian aircraft’s
route and mission.
Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday that Russia would be
prepared for an international probe proposed by Zelensky, “if he means
an international investigation into the criminal actions of the Kiev
regime,” which “is definitely needed.”
“The
exchange of prisoners is a process that takes place in complete
silence. The fact that the Ukrainians killed their PoWs, their citizens,
who should have been at home literally in a day, this, of course, is a
completely monstrous act. It’s beyond comprehension,” Peskov said...
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