ST. PETERSBURG, January 26. /TASS/. The Kremlin is dissatisfied with the outcome of the UN Security Council’s meeting on the downing of Russia’s Ilyushin-76 airplane.
"To date there has been no strong condemnation from the Western countries of this horrifying terrorist act, the horrifying destruction of the plane that was transporting [people]," Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.
For us, after all, first of all, our pilots and escorts were there. Russians died. But a very large number of Ukrainian prisoners of war also died. We have not heard a single word of condemnation. In this respect, of course not," he said in response to a question whether Moscow was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that the disaster was unprecedented and required a proper assessment by the international community. He drew attention to the fact that it was not the first time Kiev was exterminating its own citizens.
"They started doing this systematically in 2014. Kiev started destroying its own population. This is a continuation of such actions," Peskov pointed out.
Asked whether Russia planned to present evidence of Ukraine's involvement in the crash to the UN Security Council, he replied that the investigators were still working.
"Decisions will be made as the investigators receive all the necessary information," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Peskov declined to comment on claims in Kiev that some of the POWs, listed as killed in the crash of Ilyushin-76, had been handed over to Ukraine during previous exchanges.
"No, I know nothing about this," he said. "I am also unaware that these lists (of Ukrainian prisoners who were on the downed Ilyushin-76 - TASS) had been officially published somewhere," he pointed out.
Peskov left unanswered the question what would be done to the remains of Ukrainian prisoners of war. "I cannot say anything now, I simply do not have such information," Peskov admitted.
Ilyushin-76 disaster
On January 24, the Ukrainian military shot down a Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war for exchange over the territory of Belgorod Region. There were 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian POWs. Nobody survived. The Russian Defense Ministry called what happened a terrorist act and stressed that Kiev had prior knowledge of the transportation of POWs for the exchange, which was to take place at the Kolotilovka border checkpoint, and attacked the plane in order to eventually blame the attack on Moscow.