Did Ukraine kill by entering a Russian plane? A year later, he did not say.

One year has passed since Moscow has accused Kiev of shooting down a Russian military plane carrying dozens of prisoners of the Ukrainian war. Ukraine has opened an investigation, but it has not yet released its results, leaving questions about who was killed, and why.

The IL-76 transport plane crashed in the Baljuod region in Russia, near the border with Ukraine, a series of accusations in a sensitive moment for Kev, as it pressed Western aid to build exhausted weapons stocks.

Russian officials described it as a “terrorist” law and held an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Ukrainian officials He did not recognize or deny The plane was shot down, and they said they could not confirm that the Ukrainian prisoners were on board. American officials It was later evaluated The Ukrainian forces used the US -made Patriot missile to topple it, believing that the plane carried Russian missiles and ammunition.

“We have many questions about the situation,” said Sofia Subolieva, who believes her father was on board.

With the families of the prisoners still awaiting the answers, here is what we know about the incident that occurred in one year.

Conflicting accounts

Russian Ministry of Defense He said on January 24, 2024 One of the military transportation was dropped on its way to Beljorod to exchange the prisoner. She said that the plane was carrying 65 prisoners of the Ukrainian war and that no one survived the accident.

Initially, Ukraine confirmed its right to target Russian military transport aircraft in the border area, which was land in the invasion of 2022 and was used to install the attacks after that. At the time of the accident, the deadly Russian missile strikes were bombing Kharkiv, directly across the border in Ukraine, and Kiev stressed the need to hinder these attacks.

Soon after, the Military Intelligence Agency in Ukraine hinted that a tragic error could occur, and it did not acknowledge that Ukraine had shot down the plane, but provided explanations on how it occurred. One of the Ukrainian officials said that IL-76, which is often used to carry charging, had it It was previously used To connect ammunition and missiles, indicating that it was a legitimate target.

The agency admitted that the prisoner’s exchange was planned on January 24 – but said that Russia did not warn Ukraine that the prisoners were being transferred to Beljorod Airport, as was the case in the previous stock exchanges. Russian officials Disputed An account, saying that the Ukraine army has been notified.

Virgin allegations clarify the constant lack of clarity, which has become a distinctive advantage of the war. Both sides paid their favorite novels over almost three years of fighting, and they were reluctant to detect or recognize setbacks.

Invitations for investigation

President Voludmir Zelinski from Ukraine to the intelligence agency in his country called for determining what happened and for an international investigation into the accident. Russia accused “of playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their loved ones and the emotions of our society.”

The local intelligence agency in Ukraine opened an investigation into the accident.

Russian officials said that the plane crashed into a snow field near a settlement in the Korgenski area. Independent groups were unable to visit the crash site; Ukraine requested the granting of the Red Cross and the United Nations.

Russian satellite and videos have been taken, other than apparent verification Craving site And wreckage From a plane in the region, Russia described, but it was not possible to determine the passengers from the pictures.

Ukrainian officials requested the patience of citizens while they were investigating Moscow’s claims.

Determine the victims

Prisoners ’exchanges occurred regularly throughout the war, even amid bitter fighting. But the Ukrainian authorities are usually Do not reveal, even for familiesThe names of those released before exchanges.

The Russian authorities did not specify the victims of the accident when they announced this. but Names Of the 65 war prisoners claiming to be on board Common on social media By RT Editor -in -Chief, Russian government media broadcaster,

A few days later, the Ukrainian government agency supervises the war prisoners He confirmed that the names In the list, those who were appointed to be exchanged on the day of the accident. But the agency said that she had evidence to confirm that these prisoners were on board, or even died.

Sofia Subolieva said this was at the time at the time that her family had received a phone call asking a meeting. The father of Mrs. Soboleiva has been in Russian families since March 2022 – shortly after the war began – and his name was on the list.

She said, “They gathered and explained the situation, but they did not answer any questions.” The authorities said that it pledged to investigate “quickly”, and asked relatives to provide DNA.

A break in the case

The case fell from the main headlines for several months. The exchange of remains in early November was the first sign of a possible break.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that it was present to transfer the remains on November 8. Russia said the transportation included the remains of 65 dead in the entry of IL-76, but this claim cannot be independently verified.

In response to the questions, the agency said, adding that it was ready to help the authorities with the support of technical support “he did not participate in the identification process,” adding that she was ready to help the authorities with technical support.

Mrs. Soboleiva said that the 65 families, which formed a group of WhatsApp, have learned of the transition and the Ukrainian authorities told her that “time is necessary for DNA experience.”

Wonderful questions

The Public Prosecutor and Public Security Service in Ukraine did not respond to questions from the New York Times about the case of the investigation or whether any remains have been identified.

But it seems that there is a slight disagreement over whoever shot down the plane.

The Russian Ministry of Defense accused the Ukrainian forces of firing missiles from the nearby Karkiv region in Ukraine, which struck the plane. American officials He was briefed on the accident Later he said that Ukraine used a Patriot air defense missile to capture the plane.

Although Ukraine did not accept the official responsibility, Mrs. Soboleiva said this beside the point now.

“From a logical point of view, we understand that Ukraine has dropped it,” she said, although “we have nothing officially.

What is less confident about whether families will get answers to their other questions – such as how this happens and why.

Her father described it as a nice man with a “golden hands” – able to fix anything broken – who loved gardening.

“There was a lot of tension and tears, but I still cannot understand what happened,” Mrs. Soboleiva said in one of the last evenings.

“Now, I wear his black hat, so I feel warm – mentally and physically,” she added.