Ukraine at the UN said that Russian aircraft are a legitimate target for the military
Date: 2024-01-26 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
Ukraine was not informed about the transportation of its prisoners of war on the Il-76 plane that crashed in the Belgorod region. If this fact is confirmed, this will indicate the first use by the Russian Federation of Ukrainians as human shields to cover the transportation of ammunition, which is used to hit Ukrainian cities.
This was stated by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Kristina Gayovyshyn at a meeting of the UN Security Council on January 25. She recalled that the Russian Federation this week intensified its attacks on the Kharkov region, as a result of which civilians were killed and injured.
Gayovishin linked these attacks to the increase in the number of military transport aircraft, including Il-76, which have recently been arriving in Belgorod.
“Given the situation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy delivery vehicles, as well as control the airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, in particular in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction. Let me remind you that according to the laws of war, military transport aircraft of the Armed Forces Russian Federation are a legitimate military target,” she emphasized.
According to Gayovyshyn, another exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia was supposed to take place on January 24, but this did not happen. At the same time, the Ukrainian side promptly delivered the occupiers to the agreed location where they awaited the exchange in safety.
“Russia should have guaranteed the same level of security for captured Ukrainian military personnel. At the same time, the Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to maintain the security of the airspace near Belgorod during a certain period, as has been done repeatedly in the past,” added the envoy to the UN.
The Russian side did not report the number of vehicles, routes and methods of transporting prisoners. This alone may indicate Moscow’s deliberate actions to create a threat to the life and safety of prisoners.
“If the information that there were Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the plane is confirmed, this will be the first time Russia has used a human shield in the air to cover the transportation of missiles for their further use against peaceful Ukrainian cities,” Gayovyshyn concluded.
