A senior Russian legislator revealed that Ukrainian military intelligence received a warning 15 minutes before a Russian military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war entered the area where it was shot down yesterday, Wednesday. Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft in the Belgorod region of Russia, resulting in the death of all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian soldiers who were being transported for a prisoner exchange with Russian soldiers. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied shooting down the plane but has called for an international investigation.
Legislator Andrei Kartapolov told his parliamentary colleagues, "The Ukrainian side received an official warning 15 minutes before the incident, and they were provided with all the necessary information. The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed it received this warning." Kartapolov's statements contrast with those from Ukrainian military intelligence, which stated that Russia did not inform them of the flight arrangements.
Andrei Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military intelligence, stated on Thursday during an interview with Radio Svoboda that Kyiv had not received a written or verbal request from Russia to refrain from conducting attacks in the airspace where the plane was shot down. He added that two other Russian military transport aircraft, Antonov (An-26) and (An-72), were also in the airspace at that time.
The conflicting narratives from both sides are a daily feature of the nearly two-year war, but the level of risk has notably increased following yesterday’s incident, which is the deadliest of its kind on internationally recognized Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated yesterday that it is essential to clarify what happened and to identify those aboard the plane, accusing Russia of "manipulating the lives of Ukrainian prisoners" and calling for an international investigation.
