Two-pronged plan: political expert explains why Russians need provocation with Il-76 crash

He spoke about this on the Espreso TV channel.

"Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that there will be no international consortium to investigate the downing of the IL-76. This explains that this is an exclusively Russian story, and it is exclusively Russian propaganda. It was a classic two-pronged attack. The first move of the Russian Federation was the attack on people at the Donetsk market. After that, Lavrov told the UN Security Council that Ukrainians were killing civilians. Then the story of the Il-76 happened," Denysenko noted.

According to the political expert, the provocation with the Il-76 was necessary for the Russians for several reasons.

"The first reason is that everything is happening ahead of the US and Bundestag decisions to allocate funds and long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. This may delay the resolution of these issues for some time. The second point is very important. We have to understand that for Russia, one of the most important narratives for 2024 is the narrative: Russia wants negotiations, and Ukraine does not. And the third reason is an attempt to destabilize the situation on the Ukrainian territory. Allegedly, Ukrainians are killing their prisoners of war. This was a two-pronged combination prepared by the Russian Federation," Denysenko explained.

What is known about the downing of the IL-76 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.