Russia announced this Thursday that it had found two black boxes of a military transport aircraft who accuses Ukraine of shooting down and killing There are 74 passengers on board, among them were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were transferred for prisoner exchange.

Kyiv doubts what happened and calls for an international investigation

Kyiv has not confirmed either its responsibility for the disaster or the presence of Ukrainian prisoners of war on board. casting doubt on some of Russia’s claims.

Ukraine wants an international investigation, Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets said on television, adding that he would send letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. “According to my information, I cannot confirm that there were actually prisoners of war there. “We didn’t see any signs that there were that many people on board,” he added.

In his daily video message broadcast Wednesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more information was needed to clarify the incident.

“It is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their families and the emotions of our society.”

UN Security Council meeting

The UN Security Council meeting is scheduled for 17:00 (2200 GMT) at the request of Russia, which aims to establish “the reasons for this Ukrainian criminal act,” according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. .

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of wars, as well as six crew members and three Russian soldiers. The prisoner exchange was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the border crossing, he added. According to the department, Ukraine knew that a transport plane with prisoners would arrive at Belgorod airport.

Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) confirmed that the exchange would take place, but added that it had not been informed how the detainees would be transported to the exchange site. According to him, unlike previous exchanges of information, Ukraine was not asked to ensure the security of the airspace around Belgorod.

“Based on this, this may be a planned and deliberate action by Russia to destabilize Ukraine and weaken international support for our state,” the GUR said in a statement on Telegram. Ukrainian special services (SBU) also announced the beginning of an investigation into the incident.

List of names

The Ukrainian military, without confirming the fact of the downing of the plane, emphasized that they would continue to destroy Russian transport planes with missiles intended to attack Ukraine.

Ukrainian military intelligence also said that Ukraine had complied with the terms of the planned prisoner exchange and transferred Russian prisoners to an agreed location.