Story is not over yet: diplomat Bezsmertnyi on IL-76 crash in Russia

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"Obviously, this story has not been played out to the end, there are several factors that combine to prevent the Russians from ignoring this. The first of these, and a very important one, is the international component. It has been correctly noted that this plane was flying along a very interesting route, Egypt - Syria - Russia. And the fragmentary information leaks that have been made give grounds to talk about quite serious things in this regard. Moreover, we should remember what was happening in Egypt and Syria at the time," the diplomat said.

According to him, the second thing is a group of negotiators who did not board the plane. This is also a very important fact, which indicates that Russia has huge problems in the communication system and in the system of ensuring these communications, not to mention the security system.

"The third thing is the progress of the exchange of prisoners of war. This is another very significant factor. And Moscow, headed by the Führer, is looking for any way to derail this situation and blame Ukraine for it. And the fourth crucial thing is that there is nothing more important in Russia's war against Ukraine today than information and psychological attacks. Russia will use every fact, and especially this one, to accuse Ukraine of the biggest and most depressing sins," Roman Bezsmertnyi summed up.

Crash of the IL-76 aircraft in Russia

On Wednesday, January 24, a Russian military transport plane IL-76 crashed in the Korocha district of Belgorod region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the plane was allegedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia has requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council because of the downing of the plane, which Moscow accused Ukraine of shooting down. France rejected the request. 

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces emphasized that the Defense Forces control the airspace and monitor missile launch sites and logistics, especially with the use of military transport aircraft, and will continue to take measures to destroy delivery vehicles.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed that a prisoner exchange was to take place on January 24. The Intelligence noted that it does not currently have reliable and comprehensive information about who was on board the plane and in what quantity. 

White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said that the United States could not confirm the presence of Ukrainian prisoners in the Russian IL-76. 

On January 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would insist on an international investigation into the downing of the IL-76 military transport plane in Russia.

Aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap believes that the Russians tried to shoot down Ukrainian drones and shot down their Il-76 in a panic.