MOSCOW, March 1 Russia has at its disposal all the DNA necessary to identify the individuals who died in the crash of an Il-76 military aircraft in the Belgorod region at the end of January, said the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova.
““Regarding the bodies, I immediately said that we have confirmation and all the DNA, which, according to the examination, allows us to make an identification,” the ombudsman noted.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine on January 24 shot down a Russian military transport plane Il-76 over the Belgorod region, in which 65 Ukrainian prisoners were being transported for exchange. All of them, as well as three accompanying officers of the Russian Armed Forces and six crew members died. The fact of their death was confirmed by DNA testing.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian intelligence knew that there were Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners of war on board the Il-76, and nevertheless struck — “one can assume that it was by accident,” but “this is a crime in any case.” . The examination established that the plane was shot down by the American Patriot system: two MIM-104A missiles.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the crash of the Il-76 “raises a big question about the possibilities of at least some kind of agreement” with Kiev. Ukrainian media first wrote that the Il-76 was shot down by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but then deleted this data from their websites. Later, Ukraine indirectly admitted that it had shot down this plane — the Main Intelligence Directorate complained that Russia allegedly did not notify about the flight of the plane.
Putin said that Russia insists on an international investigation, but there are no volunteers from international organizations yet.