War

GUR: Russia has something to hide about the crash of IL-76

The Russian side has practically abandoned the international investigation into the downing of the IL-76 military aircraft, which means that it has something to hide about the incident. This was stated by a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Andriy Yusov, during a telethon, according to

“Taken together, everything adds up to a construction that may indicate deliberate actions by the aggressor state in relation to this incident. Now we are facing elements of concealment. The lame footage shown by Russia is nothing new. Perhaps, indeed, there is something to hide. In particular, in the context of the fact that different means of destruction have different features. And in the course of the investigation, they can be identified…”

– Yusov said.

He hinted that Russia could have shot down the plane itself.

“Who shot it down, after all? We remember the unfolding of the information events of that day and, among other things, there is evidence that Russian air defence was operating that day, in particular against Ukrainian drones. There is something to talk about in terms of clarifying the circumstances,”

– said the DIU representative.

He added that the Ukrainian side is conducting its own investigation into the incident.

“The UN Security Council has shown nothing in terms of facts, and Ukraine is interested in showing what really happened… [From the Russian side] we see a stream of propaganda and lies, nothing more. So of course Ukraine is conducting its own investigation… We are collecting data and studying the situation,”

– Yusov assured.

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would agree to an international investigation into the downing of the Russian IL-76 military aircraft only if the incident was investigated as a crime by the Ukrainian side.

The situation with the IL-76

• on 24 January, an IL-76 military aircraft went down in the Belgorod region of Russia. The Russian military leadership stated that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transported for an exchange. The Russian side claimed that the plane was shot down by Ukraine using Western weapons.
• Some Ukrainian media outlets, citing their own sources, reported that the plane was actually carrying ammunition for S-300 systems.
• The Main Intelligence Directorate reported that an exchange of prisoners of war was indeed planned for that day, but it did not take place.
• The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the General Staff have not officially commented on the situation.
• The DIU said that the IL-76 was supposed to have Russian VIPs on board, but only five bodies were delivered to the Belgorod morgue.