Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosed this information in a televised appearance. He said:" The plane was shot down – it has already been established for certain – by an American Patriot [missile] system. This has already been established by forensics."
Putin's remarks were backed by the Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR), the country's main federal investigating authority. In a statement, the agency said Ukraine fired two missiles from a staging area in the Kharkiv region not far from the village of Liptsy – some 10 kilometers from the Russian border. The Jan. 24 attack on the Il-76 transport plane killed all 74 passengers – 65 Ukrainian POWs, three Russian troops and six Russian crew members – on board. (Related: Moscow accuses Kyiv of shooting down Il-76 aircraft filled with Ukrainian POWs.)
The SKR also confirmed that it had identified the type of weapon used to shoot down the Il-76 over the Belgorod Region. During the probe, investigators from the agency found 116 missile fragments bearing English inscriptions.
One fragment contained the word "Patriot security classification," attesting to the fact that it was a missile from the U.S.-made system. Another fragment contained the word "Raytheon," one of the companies that designed the air defense system. Moreover, an extensive series of forensic tests found that the composition of the explosives indicates they were most likely produced abroad.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also weighed in on the probe. "U.S. citizens must know where their money is going," she said. Zakharova also accused the Biden administration of making the American people "accessories to a bloody tragedy."
Kyiv neither confirms nor denies involvement
A Western official meanwhile said "a missile strike rather than any kind of mechanical failure" is to blame for the transport plane's destruction, adding that it was "almost certain the missile was fired from Ukrainian territory." They continued: "Obviously, the aircraft was operating in a pretty volatile area quite close to the front line – so [it] was at higher risk."
Kyiv has not confirmed nor denied its role in the attack, with the country's authorities insisting that Moscow did not inform of Ukraine's responsibility in guaranteeing air security over the Belgorod region at the time. In contrast, Russia has insisted that Kyiv received all the relevant information prior to the attack.
Moreover, Russia has provided no evidence that Ukrainian POWs were indeed on board the transport plane – and has refused requests by Ukraine to hand over the bodies of the Ukrainian victims. The word war between the two has also intensified, with Moscow accusing Ukraine of killing its men and Kyiv dismissing Russia's assertions as "rampant propaganda."
Andrii Yusov, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence, reaffirmed in a televised appearance the need for an international probe into the crash. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also called for an international investigation, but acknowledged that this would likely be hampered as Russia has full control over access to the crash site. Putin meanwhile said Moscow was also "insisting" on a probe, but remarked that "there are no international organizations willing" to take part.
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Watch this Russia Today report of the Il-76 transport plane's crash in the Belgorod Region of Russia, purportedly due to a Ukrainian attack.
This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.
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