Vladimir Putin said the plane was shot down by a US Patriot system. (document)
Moscow, Russia:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that a U.S.-made Patriot missile was used to shoot down a plane that Moscow said was carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers.
On January 24, a Russian IL-76 cargo plane crashed, with Russian authorities saying there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.
“It has been established that the plane was shot down by the American Patriot system. Forensic medicine has confirmed this,” Putin said in a television appearance on Wednesday.
There was no immediate response from Kyiv or Washington to Putin’s comments.
In previous statements and comments, Ukrainian officials have not completely denied Russia’s version of events but have questioned whether the plane was actually carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Putin also said Russia “insists” on an international investigation into the plane crash, but said “no international organization is willing” to get involved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also called for an international investigation but said it could be hampered by Russia’s complete control of access to the crash site.
The Patriot is a guided surface-to-air missile that can be used to target aircraft or defensively neutralize incoming missiles.
After months of requests from Kyiv, the United States agreed to send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine in late 2022.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
