Janice R. Andrews
Ukraine has made a startling discovery: it claims that senior Russian officials were supposed to board the doomed military aircraft that crashed on Wednesday, killing about 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (PoWs). The spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence, Andrii Yusov, claimed that Russian security services had stopped the officials “at the last moment.”
“It is known that there were several VIPs from the military and political representation of the state aggressor due to fly on the Il-76,” Yusov revealed to Radio Svoboda. However, the Russian Security Services, or FSB, gave them an ultimatum at the last minute telling them to choose an other route instead of boarding the aircraft.”
Yusov added fuel to the fire by claiming that FSB operatives prevented Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations officials from inspecting the crash scene in the Belgorod region. They claimed to have been “driven out” and refused entry in order to adhere to protocol.
In graphic footage made public by Russia, burned human remains could be seen scattered around the snow-covered crash site. Russia claims that a surface-to-air missile manufactured in Ukraine is to blame for the accident, citing the presence of 65 prisoners of war, six crew members, and three security guards on board. But Yusov retaliated, saying that just five victims from the wreck were brought to the Belgorod mortuary.
Although Kyiv has not acknowledged or refuted taking credit for bringing down the plane, it has not ruled out the idea that Russia was using prisoners of war as human shields. Yusov and other Ukrainian officials maintain that no proof has been offered to support Russia’s accusations.
Furthermore, according to former general Andrei Kartopolov, who was associated with Russia’s defence ministry, Ukrainian military intelligence was notified fifteen minutes prior to the plane’s entry into the Belgorod zone. Kiev, though, contests this assertion.
Yusov brought attention to the fact that Russian attack drones were being repelled by active Ukrainian reconnaissance drones in the region. He voiced doubts about whether Ukrainian forces would hit any targets and highlighted worries about possible provocations or the use of Ukrainian detainees as human shields to carry weapons and ammunition.
The human rights commissioner for Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, went a step further and speculated that the event might have been staged as a Russian “false flag” operation. He questioned the veracity of a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war that Russian media sources had released, stating that it contained soldiers who had previously been exchanged back for other forces. As both countries struggle to deal with the fallout from this horrific occurrence, tensions rise.
