Investigators examine fragments of missiles at the crash site of Russian Il-76 military plane in Belgorod region
Russia says it has evidence US Patriot missiles downed its military transport plane
Reuters: Russian investigators said on Thursday they had evidence showing that Ukraine's military shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport plane last week with U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles.
The Russian Air Force Il-76 fell from the skies on Jan. 24. Russia said all 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian prisoners of war, were killed, and blamed Kyiv for downing the plane.
The investigators released footage of body parts which they said proved those aboard were Ukrainian military personnel.
Kyiv, which is fighting Russian forces in Ukraine, has neither confirmed nor denied that it downed the plane, but has challenged details of Moscow's account and called for an international investigation.
Russia's State Investigative Committee said in a statement that Ukrainian soldiers in the area of Lyptsi in the Kharkiv region had fired two missiles at the plane.
Among the fragments were serial numbers with English acronyms, including "CONFIDENTIAL classified by PATRIOT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION GUIDE DATED: 9/22/83 ADDENDUM DATED 11/28/83 8/8/84 CONTRACT NO/DAAH01-86C-A018'," the committee said in a statement.
"The fragments seized from the scene, according to their design features, geometric characteristics and available markings, are structural elements of the MIM-104A anti-aircraft guided missile of the Patriot complex of the United States, developed by Raytheon and Hughes corporations and manufactured by Raytheon," the committee said.
It published a short video showing investigators inspecting some of the 116 missile fragments on the ground in an unspecified location. One of the fragments included the what appears to be "ATRIOT" in English.
A separate video from the Investigations Committee, which appeared to be taken at the crash site, showed officials putting what they said were body fragments into bags for evidence.
It showed tattooed skin and said that, checked against DNA and identity records Russian authorities hold of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the investigation proved that those killed were Ukrainian soldiers.
Russia said on Friday it had recovered Ukrainian identity documents and tattooed body parts from the crash site near the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the statement by the investigative committee.
In World
-
Russia has supplied air defense missile systems to North Korea in exchange for sending its troops to support Russia's war efforts against Ukraine, a top South Korean official said Friday.
-
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will visit Taipei's three remaining diplomatic allies in the Pacific on a trip starting at the end of the month, his office said on Friday, but the government declined to give details on U.S. transit stops.
-
Russia is ready to consider any "realistic" peace initiative on the conflict in Ukraine which takes into account Russia's own interests and the situation on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
-
China is willing to conduct active dialogue with the United States based on the principles of mutual respect and promote the development of bilateral economic and trade relations, vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said on Friday.
Leave a review