Il-76 plane crash. "Neither Russia nor Ukraine are able to respond"

There is growing uncertainty surrounding the crash of a Russian transport plane near Belgorod. According to the head of Ukrainian intelligence, both Moscow and Kyiv do not know what exactly happened to the Il-76, but the Kremlin is using the event to attack its enemy country. Kyrylo Budanov noted that there was a lack of reliable photos from the crash site.

The crash of the Il-76 military transport plane occurred on Wednesday near Belgorod, located close to the border with Ukraine. The incident was reported by the Russian media, stating that there were 65 prisoners from Ukraine on board the plane, who were to be exchanged for military personnel from Russia.

On the same day, Kyiv denied these reports, claiming that the plane was transporting S-300 missiles. It also warned against "hostile disinformation".

Il-76 disaster: "Russia's position is clear: blame Ukraine"

On Saturday, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, spoke about the disaster. He said neither Kyiv nor Moscow could "fully answer what happened" when the Il-76 crashed.

"Russia's position is clear: blame Ukraine for everything. Even though there are many details (about the disaster - ed.) that are unclear. First of all, they did not show the fields covered with bodies and remains, which they should have shown," he said, as quoted by "Ukrainska Pravda".

In Budanov's opinion, the Kremlin's behavior means that the situation is not completely clear for Vladimir Putin's regime. "If it happened as Russia claims, why did it hide the bodies for several days and continue to do so?" he asked.

In his opinion, Moscow is "showing the whole world" that its enemy country is “murderers”. "But there are no bodies, there is nothing", said Budanov.

Ukrainian intelligence: We fulfilled the arrangements and delivered Russian prisoners

On the day of the disaster, Ukrainian military intelligence stated that Russia's actions surrounding the Clay crash "could have been a provocation" and that it did not want to exchange prisoners between the warring countries. According to the statement, the Kremlin would thus "destabilize the situation in Ukraine" and weaken international support for it.

Ukrainian intelligence also assured that Kyiv "fulfilled all arrangements" regarding the exchange, and Russian soldiers were at the indicated location on time. "The Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to ensure the security of the airspace in the area of ​​the city of Belgorod at a specified time, which happened many times in the past," the statement added.

In turn, on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Il-76 was shot down by Ukrainian air defense, but did not specify whether - in his opinion - it was done on purpose or by mistake. "In any case, what happened is a crime," said the dictator.