During a United Nations Security Council meeting, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Dmitry Polyanskiy, stated that Moscow will do everything in its power to ensure that those responsible for the Il-76 crash face deserved punishment. Polyanskiy warned, “We will do everything in our capacity to ensure that those responsible for this and other crimes of the Kiev neo-Nazi clique face deserved punishment.” He emphasized that all evidence regarding the incident points to an intentional and premeditated crime committed by Kiev, as the Ukrainian leadership was well aware of the route and method of transporting soldiers to the location of a pre-arranged exchange. Polyanskiy also pointed out that sponsors of Kiev in the West, specifically the United States and Germany, could be considered accomplices if it is determined that Ukraine used the Patriot or IRIS-T air defense systems.
On Wednesday, January 24th, a Ukrainian military transport plane, Il-76, carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange, was shot down over the Belgorod region. The aircraft also had six crew members and three military police officers on board, none of whom survived. Prior to the crash, Russian military personnel detected the launch of two anti-aircraft missiles from the territory of the Kharkiv region. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that the Kiev regime was aware of the transportation of Ukrainian servicemen for the planned exchange, which was scheduled to take place later that same day on the border of the Belgorod and Sumy regions. The Kremlin has described Ukraine’s act of killing its own citizens as monstrous, especially since they were due to return home within a few hours. In turn, Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the State Duma, instructed the preparation of an appeal to the American Congress and the Bundestag, as it is the United States and Germany who supply Ukraine with the Patriot and IRIS-T air defense systems.
