FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
If there were Ukrainian soldiers on board the plane, then Russia will eventually have to provide the evidence. Ukraine will also be asked to provide more complete answers...
There are gun wars and there are information wars and countries are fighting on both fronts. But while establishing the facts is difficult as in any other war, it is important to remember that Russia specifically has a long history of lies and disinformation.
This was proven with the downing of MH17 and the Novichok poisonings, as these are known as two major incidents in the last decade. Even the full invasion of Ukraine was launched with a lie: the false claim that a "Nazi" regime was putting Russian speakers at risk.
This does not mean that every word from the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Kremlin is not true, or from MPs and state media. But they are often fake, so they should be checked carefully before being published.
This time Russian state news agencies said an Il-76 had crashed. They cited the Defense Ministry in Moscow as claiming that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war had been on board the plane, to be exchanged for Russians being held "hostage" in Ukraine.
Kiev did not confirm this and there was no evidence from Russia. A Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, said Ukraine could have used a Patriot missile to shoot down the Ilyushin plane.
This implies a Western-supplied weapon, a big claim but one that has no evidence to back it up. While such talk became louder and spread around the world, Ukraine has yet to make any comments.
In Kiev, we began to hear rumors that a prisoner exchange was planned for yesterday. But no one in Kiev said officially. But that did not stop speculation from Russia, including claims that Ukraine had killed its soldiers on purpose.
But to dismiss such a claim is not to dismiss the possibility that Ukraine has made a terrible mistake. After all, we know the plane was shot down and Ukraine has the capacity to do so.
Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda quoted an armed forces source as saying it was "their job" and that the plane was carrying Russian S300 missiles.
Which was called as a success.
This was later corrected to say that the source was incorrect. Then yesterday evening two official statements were finally made.
They came from the General Staff and Military Intelligence of Ukraine, and together imply that Ukraine may have shot down the plane, although neither said so directly.
Ukraine says it has no reliable information about who was on board. But it confirmed that a prisoner exchange was planned for Wednesday and did not happen.
According to the source, Russia also usually provides information on the route and transport to be used for an exchange, to ensure it is safe.
But Ukraine claims that there was no notification from Moscow. Russia has recently increased rocket attacks from Belgorod, especially in Kharkiv where it has killed and wounded dozens of civilians.
We still can't be sure who or what was on the plane that went down. If there were Ukrainian soldiers on board the plane, then Russia will eventually have to provide the evidence. Ukraine will also be asked to provide more complete answers. Because there are thousands of families across this country who have relatives who are soldiers in Russia as prisoners of war, who are now waiting and worried. /Adapted "Pamphlet" from " BBC "
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