Il-76 crash: Russians and Ukrainians accuse each other before the UN
Russia and Ukraine blamed each other at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday after a Russian military plane crashed near the Ukrainian border a day earlier.
“All the information we have today shows that we are dealing with a premeditated and well thought out crime.”Declared Deputy Russian Ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, whose country requested the emergency meeting.
Moscow accused Kiev of deliberately shooting down the aircraft, which Russian authorities said was transporting 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange. Ukrainian authorities “Knowed the (air) route very well to take the troops to the exchange zone”Dimitri Polyansky assured.
This was not the first such exchange, however “This time, for some inexplicable reason, the Kiev regime decided to sabotage the process in the most barbaric way”He added, accused of being Ukrainians “Ready to sacrifice its own citizens for the geopolitical interests of the West”. “It was only thanks to the bravery of the pilots who strayed from residential areas at the last moment that no one on the ground was hurt.”He assured.
“Ukraine was not informed of the number of vehicles, routes and means of transporting the hostages. This alone could represent a deliberate act by Russia to endanger the lives and safety of the prisoners.”, Deputy Ukrainian Ambassador, Khrystyna Hayovyshyn replied. Russian prisoners “Transferred to fixed location and safely awaiting exchange. The Russians were to provide the same level of security to captured Ukrainian soldiers.she insisted.
“If reports that Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board were confirmed, it would be another flagrant violation of international humanitarian law by Russia, including the first case of using airborne human shields to cover the transportation of missiles.”she assured.
“The United Nations is unable to verify these reports or the circumstances of the accident.”UN Under Secretary-General Rosemary DeCarlo said during the meeting.
Ukraine’s allies, for their part, insisted that without Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nothing would have happened. “Russia often tries to shift the blame for the tragedies of this selective and stupid war, as if it were the victim and not the aggressor.”Launched by Deputy American Ambassador Robert Wood.
“Instead of convening meetings to reverse the order of responsibility, (Russia) should act (…) and withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory”requested the French ambassador Nicolas de Riviere, although it was noted that he was “It’s important to shed light on these incidents.”.
