Ukraine should be designated as a “terrorist state,” and the government in Kiev should be branded a “terrorist cell,” the head of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee Andrey Kartapolov has insisted, following the attack on an IL-76 military aircraft in Russia’s Belgorod Region.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian military transport plane crashed near the village of Yablonovo, around 90km from the Ukrainian border. It was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian military personnel for a prisoner swap, as well as six crew members and three people accompanying the POWs. It is believed that there are no survivors.
According to Kartapolov, Kiev was well aware of who this plane was transporting and accused the Ukrainian forces of shooting down the aircraft using what he claimed were “three Patriot or Iris-T air defense missiles.”
He also noted that there had been another IL-76 carrying 80 more Ukrainian POWs in the sky at the time of the incident. This plane was turned around after the crash, the MP said.
Regarding the exact details of the incident, Kartapolov said “specialists will figure this out later,” but noted that Kiev had demonstrated an unbelievable degree of cynicism by destroying its own soldiers.
“There can be no negotiations with these ‘people,’” he said, calling on the international community to open its eyes and realize who it is trying to help.
Ukrainian media have also reported that the country’s military destroyed the plane, citing government sources.
Ukrainskaya Pravda, however, claimed that the aircraft had been transporting S-300 air defense missiles rather than prisoners. Some time after its initial report, the newspaper removed the reference to Kiev’s role in the incident, stating only that its military sources had confirmed the crash.