Russia says Ukraine was told of prisoners’ flight; Kyiv demands international probe

WASHINGTON - A senior Russian lawmaker said Ukrainian military intelligence was given a 15-minute warning before a Russian military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war entered an area where it was shot down on Jan 24.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of deliberately shooting down the military transport plane in Russia’s Belgorod region, killing all 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to being swopped for Russian prisoners of war.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied the assertion, but has demanded an international investigation.

“The Ukrainian side was officially warned, and 15 minutes before the plane entered the zone they were given complete information, which they received and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed receipt of,” Mr Andrei Kartapolov told fellow lawmakers, according to the ruling United Russia party.

“We all know very well what happened next,” added Mr Kartapolov, a former general with close links to the Defence Ministry who now heads Russia’s parliamentary defence committee.

His assertion contradicted a statement by Ukrainian military intelligence that Russia did not inform it about the flight arrangements.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov reiterated on Jan 25, in comments to Radio Svoboda, that Kyiv had received neither a written nor verbal request from Russia to refrain from attacks in the airspace where the plane was downed.

Mr Yusov added that two other Russian military transport planes, an An-26 and an An-72, had also been in the airspace at the time.

“Unfortunately, we can assume various scenarios, including provocation, as well as the use of Ukrainian prisoners as a human shield for transporting ammunition and weapons for S-300 (air defence) systems (being used in the war),” he said.

Conflicting narratives from both sides are a daily feature of a war now nearing the end of its second year.

But the stakes are especially high in relation to the Jan 24 incident, the deadliest of its kind to take place on Russia’s own internationally recognised territory.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia called for an emergency United Nations Security Council session to discuss the crash.

The council has agreed to meet on Jan 25 at 5pm (6am Singapore time on Jan 26).

Mr Lavrov called the downing of the aircraft on Jan 24 a “criminal” act by Ukraine, and said Russia sought the session so the Ukrainians could explain how the plane went down.

“The Ukrainian prisoners of war were transported to the Belgorod region in order to conduct yet another swop that was agreed between Moscow and Kyiv,” he said.

“Instead of this, the Ukrainian side launched an air defence missile from the Kharkov (also known as Kharkiv) region.

“It targeted the airplane and was a fatal strike.”

Video footage posted on Telegram by Baza, a channel linked to Russian security services, and verified by Reuters, showed a large aircraft falling to the ground near the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region and exploding in a vast fireball.

Reuters could not immediately verify details of who was on board the downed plane, but Moscow and Kyiv have regularly swopped prisoners since Russia began what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian state media published the names of the 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers it said were on board, along with their dates of birth. The list could not be verified by Reuters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan 24 called for full clarity on the circumstances of the crash and

accused Moscow of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war”.

“It is clear that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their loved ones and the emotions of our society,” he said in his nightly video broadcast. REUTERS