Ukraine Calls for International Probe into Downing of Russian Military Plane
A day after Kyiv was accused by Moscow of deliberately shooting down a Russian military transport jet, Ukraine’s ombudsman declared on Thursday that the government will make every effort to seek an international probe into the incident.
The Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft, according to Russia, was bringing 65 captured Ukrainian troops to a prisoner swap when it was shot down on Wednesday close to the Ukrainian border, killing all 74 persons on board.
Kyiv has contested aspects of Moscow’s version and has not confirmed that Ukrainian captives were on board.
“We demand a recognised international investigation,” ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets told national television, adding he would send letters to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross calling for such a probe.
“Regarding an international investigation, I believe that we will do our part to make it happen. But I am convinced that… the Russians will make loud statements but will not allow anyone in. They will not hand over any materials for analysis and will simply blame Ukraine,” he said.
“According to my information, I cannot say positively that there were indeed prisoners of war. We did not see any indication that there was such a large number of people on the plane,” Lubinets added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday evening that greater clarity was needed about what happened, particularly when it came to who was on board, and accused Russia of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners”.
Russia has branded the downing of the plane a “terrorist act”. On Thursday the Kremlin said nobody could say at this stage how the incident would affect future prisoner swaps.
