Accusations flew between Russia and Ukraine on Thursday, each blaming the other for the military transport plane crash. Moscow insisted the plane, allegedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, was shot down by Kyiv's forces, intensifying the ongoing information war in the conflict.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses media after bilateral talks with Swiss President in Kehrsatz near Bern, Switzerland, on January 15, 2024. Zelensky will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos starting on January 16, 2024.
The Associated Press said investigators reportedly found the flight recorders a day after Wednesday's crash but had little optimism it would produce any viable information. The crash comes amid a war where both sides have often traded accusations to sway opinion at home and abroad. The Il-76 crashed in a massive ball of fire in a rural area of Russia, and authorities there said all 74 people on board, including 65 POWs, six crew, and three Russian servicemen, were killed.
The incident set off a wave of claims and counterclaims. Neither side could offer evidence to support the accusations, nor could AP independently confirm who was aboard or what caused the plane to crash.
What Did Russia Have To Say?
Russia pointed the finger at Kyiv, declaring it was their forces who shot down the plane with two missiles and that Ukrainian prisoners of war were heading to the capital for an exchange.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as "a totally monstrous act."
Ukraine countered Russia's findings and accused the country of spewing propaganda, casting doubt on whether the POWs were aboard and implying the plane may have posed a threat.
Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukraine's Air Force Commander, alleged that "rampant Russian propaganda is directing a fake stream of information to the international audience, attempting to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the global community."
According to The Independent, media in Kyiv initially cited sources within the Ukrainian military as stating that the plane had been carrying S-300 missiles intended for an attack on the nearby Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Ukraine claims the Russian army used the military transport planes to deliver missiles to the Belgorod region to perform cross-border attacks and linked them to the Russian missile strikes on Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, such as Kyiv. Oleshchuk accused Russia of trying to undermine international support for Ukraine. "Ukraine has the right to defend itself and destroy the means of the aggressors' aerial attack," he said.
"With this in mind, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy means of delivery and exercise airspace control to eliminate the terrorist threat, including in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction," the army said on Telegram.
