US officials privately confirm patriot show down Russian Il-76: NYT
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While US authorities have not officially said what caused the plane's downing, they have confirmed on the condition of anonymity that initial claims that Ukraine employed a Patriot missile were correct.
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In this photo from a video released by Russian Investigative Committee on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, Russian Investigative Committee employees walk near the wreckage of the Russian military Il-76 plane, that crashed near Yablonovo, Belgorod region of Russia, on Jan. 25, 2024(Russian Investigative Committee via AP)
According to The New York Times, US officials have privately confirmed allegations that Ukraine deployed a US-made Patriot system to shoot down a Russian Il-76 airliner carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Belgorod region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense accused the Ukrainian forces of downing the airplane after an exchange of prisoners of war had been arranged.
While US authorities have not officially said what caused the plane's downing, they have confirmed on the condition of anonymity that initial claims that Ukraine employed a Patriot missile were correct, according to the story.
Ukraine deployed a Patriot interceptor given by one of its European partners to bring down the Russian cargo jet on January 24, which Moscow first claimed after the tragedy, according to the report.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of provoking Russia into retaliatory strikes following the downing of an Il-76 plane last week.
Putin detailed how Ukraine has several goals behind targeting peaceful cities like pulling attention away from their failed counteroffensive, proving they can do something, and provoking Russia into retaliatory actions.
In a meeting with authorized representatives, Putin accused Western media of downplaying the targeting, vowing that "we will not forget about the crimes they commit against our citizens."
In a meeting with authorized representatives, Putin accused Western media of downplaying the targeting, vowing that "we will not forget about the crimes they commit against our citizens."
The US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel had earlier claimed that the US was not involved in the crash of an Il-76 plane in Russia’s Belgorod region with Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.
"I can certainly say that the United States was not involved in this [plane crash] in any way," Patel said during a press briefing.
But later, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the US is looking into the potential involvement of US-made weapons in the downing of the plane.
