Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that his country has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) following the crash of a Russian plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners.
Speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York (USA), Mr. Lavrov said that the IL-76 transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, along with 6 crew members and 3 Russian officers, was shot down. All people on board were killed.
The crew of the Il-76 military plane crashed in the Belgorod region, within Russian airspace, 5-6 km from the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region, on the border with Ukraine. There were reports of external impact on the plane, said Viktor Bondarev, deputy head of the defense committee of the Russian upper house of parliament.
Based on this information, Mr. Bondarev confirmed that the plane was shot down. He emphasized that through the clip posted on the Telegram channel, typical traces of a missile can be clearly seen and most likely there was more than one missile.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the country's Defense Ministry called it a terrorist act. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the plane was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using an anti-aircraft missile system. Radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles.
The Speaker of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, has ordered to prepare and send opinions to the US and German Congresses regarding the crash of the Russian military transport plane. Ria Novosti quoted Volodin as saying that it is necessary to clarify what type of anti-aircraft missile could have brought down the plane.
The Il-76 is a military transport aircraft used to transport troops, cargo, military equipment and weapons. It has a crew of 5 and can carry up to 90 people.
After the crash of a plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners on January 24, two Ukrainian and Russian planes carrying prisoners had to urgently divert a second IL-76 carrying 80 prisoners away from the danger zone.
KHANH HUNG
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