IL-76 crash near Belgorod: putin denies possibility of "friendly fire"

IL-76 crash near Belgorod: putin denies possibility of "friendly fire"

Kyiv  •  UNN

January 26 2024, 05:25 PM • 29237 views

russian president vladimir putin said that the Il-76 plane could not have been shot down by russia, but was shot down by Western weapons, possibly an American or French missile.

russian president vladimir putin has said that russian air defense systems could never have shot down their own aircraft, so the responsibility for the downing of the IL-76 allegedly lies with Ukraine. The russian dictator said this at a meeting with students, Russian media reported, UNN writes.

Details

Putin  emphasized that the plane was shot down by an alleged Western weapon, and that the Russian air defense system could not have done so.

By definition, our air defense systems cannot strike at their own aircraft. There are friend or foe systems there, and no matter how many times the operator pressed the button, our air defense systems would not work

- assures the Russian dictator.

"Parallels with Olenivka immediately emerged. We've been through this before" - Lubinets on the Kremlin's reaction to the downing of the IL-76January 25 2024, 09:53 AM • 42401 view

Addendum

The russian dictator also assures that the plane was shot down by an American or French missile. According to him, the exact results will be provided by the russian examination of the remains of the plane, which will be completed in a few days.

Recall

On January 24, an Il-76 military transport plane crashed in the Korochany district of Belgorod region of russia. the russian Defense Ministry  said that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board, who were being transported for exchange.

The Russians also immediately claimed that the plane was allegedly shot down by Ukraine. 

The Main Directorate of Ukrainian Intelligence stated that there is currently no reliable and comprehensive information about who exactly was on board the downed Russian Il-76 aircraft and in what number.