The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for years, and the standoff between the two sides in the eastern Ukrainian region has shown no signs of abating. Recently, the crash of a Russian military transport plane has aroused widespread concern in the international community, the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 9 crew members, who were supposed to be exchanged prisoners, but were attacked during the flight and did not survive. How exactly did this incident happen? And what do Russia and Ukraine think? This article will analyze this.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, on January 24, an Il-76 military transport plane crashed in Belgorod Oblast while performing a routine flight mission, killing all the people on board. The plane took off from Kharkiv Oblast and was preparing to transport 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war to Belgorod Oblast for a prisoner exchange. These prisoners of war were captured by the Russian army in the previous Russian-Ukrainian exchange of fire, and they were exchanged by the Russian side to the Ukrainian side in accordance with the provisions of the Minsk agreements. In addition to the prisoners of war, there were 6 crew members and 3 escorts on board, all of whom were soldiers of the Russian army.
The Russian side believes that the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian missile and was a terrorist attack. ** The Ministry of Defense said that the radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces detected the launch of two Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles from the Liptsy region of Kharkiv Oblast, targeting the transport aircraft. The Russian side accused Ukraine of a flagrant violation of the Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchange agreement, disrespect for the lives of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war, and sabotage of the Russian-Ukrainian peace process. The Russian side demanded that the Ukrainian side take responsibility for this and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
The Ukrainian side denied the Russian side's statement, and Ukraine's **Zelensky spoke on social media **, putting the blame on the Russian side. He claimed that the Russian side was "playing" with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war, with the emotions of their relatives and Ukrainian society. It was a "very difficult day," he said, and he expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and called on the international community to investigate the cause of the plane crash. He also said that the Ukrainian side will continue to negotiate with the Russian side for the exchange of prisoners, but will not give up pressure on the Russian side.
At present, the real cause of the crash of the plane has not been confirmed, but some analysts believe that the Ukrainian side may have "bombed" the plane by mistake. Because the Ukrainian side has been countering Russia's military activities recently, especially in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly launched missiles in an attempt to destroy Russian transports. The Ukrainian side may have misjudged the identity of the plane and thought it was a military target of the Russian side, so it ordered the missile launch. However, this cannot completely rule out the possibility that the Ukrainian side deliberately attacked the plane, because the Ukrainian side may want to use this to create an incident, undermine the Russian-Ukrainian peace process, and put pressure on the Russian side.
In any case, this incident is a tragedy of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which not only caused innocent people**, but also exacerbated the hostility between Russia and Ukraine, and brought more obstacles to the Russian-Ukrainian peace process. Both Russia and Ukraine should calm down, resume dialogue as soon as possible, abide by the Minsk agreements, and make efforts for a ceasefire and reconciliation. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for too long, and neither side can benefit from it, and only through diplomatic channels can the security and interests of both sides be realized. The UN Security Council should also play a role in providing support and assistance for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.