On Tuesday, Moscow called Washington a “direct accomplice” in the shooting down of a Russian military transport plane last month.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, held at Moscow’s request, that Russia had irrefutable evidence about Ukraine’s involvement in the plane’s crash.
The Russian Air Force Il-76 plane crashed on 24 January. All 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers on their way to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war, were killed. Nebenzya told the Security Council:
We possess irrefutable evidence that a Patriot surface-to-air missile was used to carry out the strike, which leaves no doubt the Washington is a direct accomplice in this crime as well.
Last week, Russian investigators said they had evidence that the Ukrainian military shot down a military transport plane using US-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles.
Russia asked the council to meet on Tuesday after it said Ukraine killed at least 28 people when it used Western-supplied missiles to strike a bakery and a restaurant on Saturday in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russian warplane was shot down by a US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system (SAM). He also said that Moscow insists on an international investigation into the plane crash.
