A year has passed since Moscow accused kyiv of having shot down a Russian military plane carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine has opened an investigation, but has not yet published its conclusions, which leaves questions about who was killed and why.
The IL-76 transport aircraft crash in the Russian region of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, sparked a series of recriminations at a delicate moment for kyiv, while it was pressure to obtain the Western aid to reconstruct its stocks of exhausted weapons.
Russian officials qualified this act as “terrorist” and convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Ukrainian officials did not admit neither denied Developed the plane and said they could not confirm that Ukrainian prisoners were on board. US officials evaluated later That the Ukrainian forces had used a patriot of American manufacture to shoot it down, thinking that the plane was carrying missiles and Russian ammunition.
“We have a lot of questions about the situation,” said Sofia Sobolyeva recently, who thinks her father was on the plane.
While the families of prisoners are still waiting for answers, here is what we know about the accident a year later.
Conflict accounts
Russian Defense Ministry said January 24, 2024 That one of his military transport had been killed as he headed for Belgorod for an exchange of prisoners. He said the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and that no one had survived the accident.
Initially, Ukraine affirmed its right to target Russian military transport aircraft in the border area, which had served as a basis for the invasion of 2022 and was used to organize attacks thereafter. At the time of the accident, deadly Russian missile strikes hit Kharkiv, just on the other side of the Ukrainian border, and kyiv stressed the need to prevent these attacks.
Soon, however, the Ukrainian military intelligence services alluded to the possibility of a tragic error, without directly recognizing that Ukraine had shot down the plane, but by offering explanations on the way in which this could have happened. A Ukrainian official said the IL-76, often used to transport freight, had already used To deliver ammunition and missiles, which suggests that it was a legitimate target.
The agency admitted that an exchange of prisoners was scheduled for January 24, but said that Russia had not warned Ukraine that prisoners were transported by plane to Belgorod airport, as was the case during previous exchanges. Russian officials disputed that account, saying that the Ukrainian army had been informed.
Divergent claims illustrate the persistent lack of clarity which has become a decisive characteristic of war. The two camps defended their favorite speeches during almost three years of fighting and were reluctant to disclose or recognize their setbacks.
Investigation calls
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked his country’s intelligence services to determine what had happened and to open an international investigation into the accident. He accused Russia of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their loved ones and the emotions of our society”.
Ukrainian internal intelligence services have opened an investigation into this incident.
Russian authorities said the plane crashed into a snowy field near a colony in the Korochansky district. No independent group was able to visit the accident site; Ukraine has requested that access be granted to the Red Cross and the United Nations.
Satellite images and unbenaged Russian videos have captured what seems to be the accident and debris From an airplane in the area described by Russia, but it was not possible to identify the passengers from the images.
Ukrainian officials asked for patience from citizens while they were investigating Moscow’s claims.
Identify the victims
Exchanges of prisoners took place regularly throughout the war, even in the midst of fierce fighting. But the Ukrainian authorities generally have Do not disclose, even to familiesThe names of those who should be published before exchanges.
Russian authorities have not identified the victims of the accident when they announced it. But names of the 65 prisoners of war which would have been on board were shared on social networks by the editor -in -chief of RT, the Russian state media,
A few days later, the Ukrainian government agency which oversees prisoners of war confirmed that names On the list corresponded to those who were to be exchanged on the day of the accident. But the agency said that it had no evidence confirming that these prisoners were on the plane, or even that they were dead.
It was almost at that time, explained Sofia Sobolyeva, that her family received a telephone call from the army asking for a meeting. Ms. Sobolyeva’s father had been in Russian captivity since March 2022 – shortly after the start of the war – and his name was on the list.
“They gathered us and explained the situation to us but answered any questions,” she said. The authorities have undertaken to investigate “quickly”, she said, and asked their relatives to submit their DNA.
A break in the case
The case has no longer made the headlines for months. An exchange of remains in early November was the first sign of a potential rupture.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed its presence during the transfer of the body on November 8. Russia said that the transfer included the remains of 65 people killed in the slaughter of the IL-76, but this assertion could not be verified independently.
“The ICRC did not participate in the identification process,” the agency said this week in response to the questions, adding that it was ready to help the authorities with technical support.
Sobolyeva said that the families of the 65 people, who had formed a WhatsApp group, were informed of the transfer and were informed by the Ukrainian authorities that it was necessary for DNA expertise “.
Outstanding questions
The Attorney General and the Ukrainian security services did not answer questions from the New York Times on the state of the investigation or if human remains had been identified.
But there seems to be little controversy as to who shot the plane.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of launching missiles from the Ukrainian region close to Kharkiv who hit the plane. US officials informed of the incident said later that Ukraine used a Patriot air defense missile to shoot the plane.
Even if Ukraine has not formally accepted its responsibility, Ms. Sobolyeva said that this was no longer the question now.
“Logically, we understand that Ukraine has killed it,” she said, even if “officially we have nothing.
What she is less safe is if families will one day have answers to their other questions – like how it happened and why.
She described her father as a kind man with “golden hands” – capable of repairing everything that broke – and who loved to garden.
“There has been a lot of stress and tears, but I still can’t understand what happened,” said Sobolyeva recently.
“Now,” she added, “I just wear her black hat, so I feel warmer, both mentally and physically.”
