The downing of a Russian military plane near the country’s border with Ukraine on Wednesday ignited a pitched battle between the warring nations to establish the truth and ultimate blame for what happened in a murky war with a frozen front line.
Russia said the plane, an Ilyushin IL-76, was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and nine Russian military personnel and that it was shot down by missiles fired from Ukrainian territory. While not admitting responsibility, Ukraine said it believed the plane was likely carrying missiles destined for use in the war and that, in any event, responsibility for the safety and security of captive soldiers was Moscow’s alone.
Underlying the potential tragedy in a snowy field in the Russian border town of Belgorod is a deep mistrust stemming from previous failed Russian attempts to blame Ukraine after the blood of its own captured soldiers had been spilled.
The only fact that Moscow and Kyiv now agree on in the sordid matter is that the two sides were to have exchanged PoWs Wednesday. Now the only trade is the volley of accusations being made in the wake of the crash.
The Ukrainian military vowed to continue attacking Russian aircraft “to eliminate the terrorist threat,” while the Russian foreign ministry said the Belgorod crash was “yet another atrocity committed by (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy’s criminal regime.”
The Russian Defence Ministry said the plane had been flying from Chkalovsky to Belgorod when it was shot down by the Ukrainian military at about 11 a.m. local time. Videos showed the plane exploding into a fireball after crash-landing in a field.
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