MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Investigation has found that the Ilyushin-76 military transport airplane was shot down in the Belgorod Region with a US-made Patriot surface-to-air system, which fired two missiles.
"According to the findings produced by expert examination conducted in the course of the investigation, the fragments recovered from the scene of the incident, according to their design features, geometric parameters and available markings, are identified as elements of the anti-aircraft guided missile MIM-104A of the US Patriot system, developed by Raytheon and Hughes corporations and produced by Raytheon", the press service of the Investigative Committee told the media.
It was also established that the aircraft was attacked by two missiles from the area of Liptsy, in the Kharkov Region of Ukraine.
"Examination of the scene at a distance of 1.8 kilometers northeast and 4.8 kilometers southeast of the presumed place where the aircraft was attacked a total of 116 fragments of bodies and mechanisms of two missiles with inscriptions and markings in English have been found," the IC said.
The following markings were found on the collected fragments: ASSY 11455748, SN740179, ASSY 11461343, SN740206, ASSY 11461865, SN740207, Raytheon, Confidential classified by Patriot Security Classification guide dated: 9/22/83 addenda dated 11/28/83 8/8/84 contract No/DAAH01-86C-A018, as well as 18876 ASSY, Martin Marieta and 10253043-39 02 S/N 80025.
According to the results of examination carried out with methods of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection and high-performance liquid chromatography with mass-selective detection, it was found that traces of hexogen with impurities of up to 10% of octogen, which is characteristic of foreign-made explosives, were found on the washes from the fragments.
The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ilyushin-76 airplane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war had been shot down by the US Patriot system, adding that he was saying so with 100-percent certainty.
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.