31 January 2024 , 14:25
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed a military aircraft was shot down by an American missile system in Russia.
It comes after an investigation into the Ilyushin Il-76 plane crash that happened last Wednesday, January 24. Putin has now claimed the plane was shot down by the American Patriot defence system.
"The plane was shot down - this has already been established for sure - by the American Patriot system," he said. "An examination has already established this."
It comes after a source in law enforcement told Russian media outlet TASS: "Most likely, a Patriot missile system was used. A probe continues". This was also alleged by another source, with one saying there was a "high probability" that Ukrainian troops used a US-supplied Patriot surface-to-air missile to down the plane.
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A Russian investigator examining debris at the crash site of the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft near the village of Yablonovo (RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITEE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Another Russian emergency services source claimed "the preliminary examination of the striking elements found in the plane shows that the missile [that hit it] belongs to a Western-made air defence system". Meanwhile, Putin has insisted on an international investigation into the crash.
However, he has said there have been no volunteers come forward from international organisations. In the meeting with trusted officials, he said: "I'm officially saying: we ask you to send international experts and conduct this analysis, evaluate the available material evidence that the plane was shot down by the Patriot system."
A convoy of buses is seen transporting Ukrainian prisoners for a potential swap to the II-76 at a Russian airbase on January 24 (Anadolu via Getty Images)The President said he doesn't know or understand why the plane was shot down by Ukraine. adding: "You can still imagine why they are shelling peaceful cities.
"There are several goals: to divert the attention of their own population and sponsors from the failures of the so-called counter-offensive; to show that they can do something' to provoke us into retaliatory mirror actions to strike civilians and peaceful purposes on the territory of Ukraine itself.
"This is what we are doing - we are using high-precision weapons to destroy infrastructure, the military, first of all, and the military industry. They want to provoke us into retaliatory actions, I probably think so."
There are believed to have been more than 70 people on board when the plane was shot down (RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITEE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)He also claimed Western media was trying to cover up the story, saying: "look what's there in the Western media? Nothing. So, that's all. Click and immediately everyone forgets, everything goes away immediately, the information field is immediately cleared, but we will not forget about the crimes they commit against our citizens."
The II-76 was a Russian military transport plane which Russia says was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for an exchange. All those on board, including the six crew members and three accompanying Russian Armed Forces officers, died.
Despite the incident, Putin noted that Moscow will not stop carrying out prisoner exchanges with Ukraine. He explained: "We will not stop. We need to take our guys.
The wreckage of the plane that went down near Yablonovo, Belgorod region, Russia (RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITEE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"We have a ratio of people who are in Russia, our guys who are in Ukraine... one to ten, even more. We will still take our guys, if the Ukrainian side, of course, [is] ready. They always give us a signal that they are ready."
Russia initially accused Ukraine of shooting down the aircraft said to be carrying its own soldiers. In response, Ukraine did not confirm whether it had shot down the plane but said it would continue to destroy Russian military aircraft it believed were carrying missiles destined to be launched at Ukraine.
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The II-76 is a large military transport plane, commonly used to carry soldiers, cargo and weapons. The plane went down in a huge fireball near Yablonovo, Belgorod Oblast, Russia, killing all 74 people believed to have been on board, according to the Russian defence ministry. However, Ukrainian military intelligence has said it does not have reliable information as to who was on board the aircraft.