Zelenskyy on the downing of Il-76: Ukraine will insist on an international investigation

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that it is necessary to establish all the facts and conduct an investigation into the downing of the Russian Il-76 aircraft on 24 January.

Source: Zelenskyy’s video address

Details: The President said that Defense Minister Rustem Umierov, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Chief of the Defence Intelligence Service Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk, and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Serhii Shaptala reported on the situation with the aircraft and the exchange.

Quote: "We need to establish all the exact facts. As much as possible, given that the plane crash occurred on Russian territory, which is beyond our control.

‘Facts’ is the key word now. I have heard from the Commander-in-Chief and the General Staff about the use of the Air Force. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine is working to find out the fate of all the prisoners of war. The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating all the circumstances.

And I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to inform our partners about the available data. Our country will insist on an international investigation."

Details: Zelenskyy said that "the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war, playing with the feelings of their relatives and with the emotions of our society".

Background:

• A Russian Il-76 aircraft crashed in the Korocha district of Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Sources in the General Staff stated the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
• Following the downing of the Il-76, a number of Russian media outlets cited Andrei Kartapolov, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defence. He claimed that the plane contained dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transported for a prisoner swap. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that he was looking into the situation.
• Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence commented that a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine was due to take place on Wednesday, 24 January.
• Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan published a list of the Ukrainian prisoners of war who she alleges were on board the Il-76 aircraft that crashed – but one of them is a soldier who had been swapped earlier.

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