Russia and Ukraine lose date of 2024-01-28

 

 

Russian plane crash- Only five bodies delivered to Belgorod morgue, Ukrainian intelligence suggests

 

Russian plane crash

 

Only five bodies delivered to Belgorod morgue after mysterious Russian plane crash, Ukrainian intelligence suggests.

Ukraine says it has intelligence suggesting only five bodies were delivered from the crash site of a Russian military transport plane to a nearby morgue, a Ukraine military intelligence official told CNN, casting doubt on Moscow’s claim that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in the explosion.

Moscow and Kyiv gave conflicting accounts of how the Ilyushin Il-76 was downed Wednesday in Russia’s Belgorod region, which neighbors eastern Ukraine. Moscow says the plane was transporting Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Kyiv says it was carrying Russian missiles to be used in further strikes on Ukraine.

But the latest comments indicate Kyiv’s growing confidence that the IL-76 plane, which crashed Wednesday morning in the village of Yablonovo in Russia’s Belgorod region, may not have been carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war ahead of an exchange, as Moscow claimed.

 

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (DI), informed CNN that the number of bodies brought to the morgue matched the number of crew members on the plane. He stated, "No other bodies were detected."

Moscow claimed that all 74 people on board, including six crew members, three military escorts, and 65 Ukrainian servicemen, were killed in the crash. A Russian regional governor released a list of names claiming to be the six-person crew.

When questioned by CNN about the discrepancy between the number of crew members reported by Russian authorities and the number of bodies that Ukrainian intelligence indicated had arrived at the morgue on Wednesday, Yusov maintained his initial statement.

Initially, Russia failed to provide visual evidence to support their claim that there were Ukrainian soldiers on the plane. The first videos from the crash site, some of which were broadcasted on Russian state media, showed several dead bodies on the ground, but there were no indications of dozens of fatalities.

The Russian Investigative Committee released a second video on Thursday, which they claim is from the crash site, and appears to show human remains in the snow.

The video shows investigators measuring what appears to be a bloody human hand and a dismembered arm. In separate clips, the video also shows aerial footage of the crash site and remnants of the plane. It is unclear if the human remains in the video are in the same location as the remnants of the plane.

CNN geolocated the two videos released by Russia's Investigative Committee of the crash site, which matches the location of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image taken by Umbra Space for CNN.

The plane came down in a field in rural Belgorod oblast, just north of the small village of Yablonovo, according to CNN's analysis of videos and the SAR image..

The SAR image reveals a scattered collection of wreckage covering the location where the Il-76 crashed. The field of debris measures slightly less than a mile in length and extends approximately 800 feet at its widest section.

More claims from Moscow

Moscow also accused Kyiv of downing the plane with an anti-aircraft missile system from Ukrainian territory, claiming that the radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces detected two Ukrainian missiles. Ukraine's military command stated that it considered Russian military aircraft approaching Belgorod as a legitimate target but did not confirm that it had fired at the plane.

CNN is unable to independently verify the claims made by the two sides.

Both Moscow and Kyiv agree that a prisoner exchange had been planned for Wednesday, with the swap due to take place some 60 kilometers west of Belgorod city. Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Thursday in a televised interview that the swap was planned and the representatives of our institution were present.

But Yusov said Ukraine had not received notification that the prisoners would be flown into the region, rather than being transferred by road or rail. In the only other recent prisoner-of-war exchange, which happened earlier this month, Russia had sent a deconfliction alert to Ukraine to keep Belgorod's airspace free, Yusov said, which Ukraine had observed.

Yusov also claimed that Russian IL-76 aircraft were often used to carry S-300 missiles to forward positions and that Russia was restocking its missiles in the Belgorod region after several waves of attacks on the nearby Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Yusov's comments, which cast doubt on the account given by Moscow, echo similar remarks made overnight into Thursday by Mykola Oleschuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force. Frantic Russian propaganda is directing a stream of fake information to an external audience in an attempt to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the world community, he said in a statement.

 

Lubinets also referred to Moscow's unverified account as "a clear example of Russia planning an information campaign against Ukraine." He stated that he had sent official letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to inquire whether Russia had informed them about the transfer of prisoners of war by plane.

On Thursday, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) initiated a criminal investigation into the crash. The government's communications body also called for an international investigation into the incident, stating that "there is no evidence that any Ukrainian citizens were killed on board" and that "Russian official statements cannot be trusted."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday that it is too early to discuss any instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the military plane crash, as the investigation is still ongoing.

He described the downing of the IL-76 as an "absolutely heinous act," as the plane was reportedly carrying Ukrainian servicemen "who should have been at home in just a day."

CNN's Lauren Kent and Paul P. Murphy contributed to the reporting.

 Breaking news

Netanyahu must be removed, top former Israeli national security officials say.

 

CNN - More than 40 senior former Israeli national security officials, celebrated scientists, and prominent business leaders have written a letter to Israel's president and speaker of parliament, demanding the removal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office. They argue that Netanyahu poses an "existential" threat to the country. The letter is signed by four former directors of Israel's foreign and domestic security services, two former heads of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and three Nobel Prize winners.

 

The letter condemns the coalition formed by Netanyahu to create the most right-wing government in Israel's history, as well as his controversial attempts to reform the country's judiciary. The letter argues that these efforts resulted in security lapses that led to the October 7 attacks, the deadliest day in Israel's history.

"We believe that Netanyahu is primarily responsible for creating the circumstances that led to the brutal massacre of over 1,200 Israelis and others, the injury of over 4,500, and the kidnapping of more than 230 individuals, of whom over 130 are still held captive by Hamas. The blood of the victims is on Netanyahu's hands." 

 

The letter was sent to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday and to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Friday.

Netanyahu's popularity has fallen dramatically since starting his sixth term as prime minister, just over a year ago. Critics have criticized his judicial reform efforts - which threatened to trigger a constitutional crisis and divided the country, with months of massive, regular demonstrations.

Leaders of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas openly praised what they correctly saw as a destabilizing and erosive process of Israel's stability, led by Netanyahu, and seized the opportunity to harm and damage Israel's security.

Among the 43 signatories are former IDF chiefs Moshe Ya'alon and Dan Halutz, Tamir Pardo, and Danny Yatom, who ran the Mossad intelligence agency, and Nadav Argaman and Yaakov Peri, who were directors of the domestic security service, Shin Bet.

Former CEOs, ambassadors, government officials, and three Nobel laureates for chemistry - Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, and Dan Shechtman - also signed the letter.

A poll released this week by Israel's Channel 13 suggests that Netanyahu's political party, Likud, would now come in a distant second if elections were held today. The frontrunner in the poll was the National Unity Party led by former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, currently a member of Netanyahu's war cabinet.

The next elections are not scheduled until late 2026, although there have been protests and demands for early elections, including from one of Israel's main opposition leaders, Yair Lapid.