​Kyiv and Moscow continue to blame each other for the crash of a Russian military plane near the Ukrainian border, the mystery of which remains unsolved. Russia and Ukraine defended their versions of the incident, making scathing accusations at a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday after the crash of a plane that Russian authorities said was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange. The Ukrainian representative at the UN rejected Moscow’s accusations, saying that if the presence of prisoners on board is confirmed, Russia will have to answer for “a new violation of international humanitarian law.”
All information about the war in Ukraine – day 702 – LIVE on HotNews.ro:
07:39 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the goal of the extraordinary EU summit next week is the agreement of all member states on financial assistance to Ukraine.
A spokesman for the German government also said on Wednesday that additional arms deliveries to Ukraine would be a topic of discussion during the summit.
07:32 On Wednesday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded a full explanation of the circumstances of the crash of the Russian plane in the border area with Russia and accused Moscow of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war.”
“It is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their loved ones and with the emotions of our society,” Zelenskyy said in the evening video broadcast.
The statement came after Russian officials accused Ukraine of deliberately shooting down an Il-76 military transport plane and said it was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to take part in an exchange. (Reuters)
A brief summary of recent events:
- Ukraine’s military intelligence has not confirmed whether there were any prisoners on board or commented on what may have caused the crash, but Russia announced late Thursday that it had released the first images of the likely crash site of the Russian Il-76 military jet, which would have killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war. . In the list of Ukrainian prisoners of war who were allegedly on board the crashed plane, there are names of some soldiers who have already been released.
- According to Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, only five bodies were sent to the local morgue in Belgorod, and no human remains are visible on the video from the crash site. It also says that high-ranking Russian officials were supposed to be on board the Il-76 plane that crashed in the Belgorod region on January 24. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Wednesday evening called for an international investigation into the downed Russian plane.
- Igor Girkin, a former commander of pro-Russian separatists in Donbas and a well-known pro-war Russian nationalist, was sentenced by a court in Moscow on Thursday to 4 years in prison for “inciting extremism”.
- Russian justice announced Thursday that it has sentenced 26-year-old Daria Trepova to 27 years in prison for the April 2023 explosive murder of Russian nationalist blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.
- Russian officials have confirmed that Ukrainian drones hit the Rosneft oil refinery in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
- Investigative journalists in Ukraine are being targeted in “intimidation” operations potentially linked to their investigations into corruption in the country, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) complained on Thursday, condemning the “increasing pressure on Ukrainian media”.
- A recently released video released by the Ukrainian military captured the horrific carnage suffered by a Russian assault platoon.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a press conference on Wednesday that he expects Kyiv and Berlin to agree on security guarantees “soon”.
- Kyiv plans to start building four new nuclear reactors this summer or fall, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said on Thursday.
- The speaker of Hungary’s parliament said on Thursday that there is no urgent need to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership, as Hungary remains the only country in the alliance that has not done so.
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- Thursday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro
Source: Hot News
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