DUkraine considers the information provided so far by Russia regarding the alleged shooting down of the Il-76 military transport aircraft to be unfounded. There is still no evidence that there were actually 65 prisoners of war on board the Ilyushin, which crashed in Belgorod on Wednesday, said the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. According to a statement released on Friday by the coordination staff for the exchange of prisoners of war, Russia provided a list of names after a long delay. However, it is still unclear whether these people were in the Il-76.
“There is currently no information that would indicate that so many people could have been on that plane,” Budanov said. Accordingly, the Ukrainian coordination staff held a meeting with relatives and friends of prisoners of war. Russia handed over a list of prisoners of war, which also included the names of 65 soldiers who were scheduled for an exchange on January 24th. But her fate remains unclear.
The Russian propaganda version still raises many questions, Budanov said. Ukraine called for an international investigation into the crash and “who or what was actually transported on that plane.” It is suspected in Kiev that Russia actually used the Il-76 to transport missiles. According to Russian information, nine Russian crew members were among the 74 dead.
Russian investigators release videos of the crash
The Russian Investigative Committee released videos with images of corpses and a plane on Friday. The recordings show investigators in a rubble field, closing a body bag and also showing tattoos on body parts. Ukrainian documents from suspected prisoners of war can also be seen. Another video also shows a plane with transporters heading towards it. According to authorities, this proves that the Ukrainian prisoners of war boarded the plane before it was shot down.
The videos could not initially be independently verified. Russia is likely to want to refute Ukraine's doubts that there were really prisoners of war on board the Ilyushin when it crashed last Wednesday. The collected body parts will be genetically examined in order to identify the people killed in the crash, it said. According to Russian investigators, the plane was fired from an anti-aircraft system in the Ukrainian-controlled town of Lypzi in the Kharkiv region.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had previously said in his first public reaction that Ukrainian military intelligence knew about the transport for a prisoner exchange. The Ilyushin was shot down either intentionally or through a mistake by the US Patriot system or by a European system – “most likely a French one,” Putin said. In a few days this will become clear after examining the rocket remains.
Russia has been waging its war of aggression against Ukraine for almost two years. Ukraine is defending itself against Russian attacks with Western military aid, including anti-aircraft systems such as the Patriot type. The Russian Belgorod region has been repeatedly shelled from the Kharkiv region for months.
Zelenskyj: More in-house production of weapons and ammunition
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sees an upward trend in domestic production of weapons and ammunition. Zelensky said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev that he was grateful to everyone who was working on Ukraine's own abilities to close gaps and equip its troops. Ukraine repeatedly complains that Western allies are not supplying more weapons and ammunition for a victory against Russia. Ukraine is also continuing to work to strengthen defenses against Russian “air terror” in border towns and frontline positions with even more anti-aircraft systems, Zelensky said.
Continued struggle for new US aid
However, Ukraine will have to wait for new financial aid from its most important ally. The approval of further support is overshadowed by a domestic political dispute between Republicans and US President Joe Biden's Democrats. The Republican leader of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, reportedly warned that a bill from the Senate would be “dead” by the time it reached its chamber if rumors about its contents were correct.
Last year, Biden requested billions in support for Ukraine and new money from Congress to tighten migration policy on the border with Mexico. However, the Republicans are resisting approving new aid because they are demanding that Biden tighten US asylum policy in return. There has been no breakthrough so far in the tough negotiations over a new aid package for the country attacked by Russia.
Since the war began in February 2022, the United States, under Biden's leadership, has provided or pledged well over $40 billion in military aid to Kiev. The previously approved US support for Ukraine expired at the end of last year. At the end of December, the Pentagon announced the last military aid package for Ukraine for the time being.