Samostrel in Ukrainian

Yesterday, Ukraine carried out another terrorist attack - a Russian military transport aircraft Il-76 was shot down in the sky over Belgorod. There were Ukrainian prisoners of war on board - their exchange was planned to be held on the same day on the border of the Belgorod and Kharkov regions.

Deputy Head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and many experts are convinced that this tragedy is not an accidental mistake of the Ukrainian air defense, but a deliberate bloody provocation in order to weaken the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny. For Kyiv, have the lives of Ukrainian prisoners become a bargaining chip in the struggle for power and resources?

The Moscow Post correspondent understood the situation.

On board were 65 prisoners of war, six Russian crew members and three escorts. They all died. Another military transport aircraft was flying next, there were 80 prisoners of war in it. After the attack, they were able to deploy it and successfully plant it, the people in it were not injured.

Such exchanges are prepared strongly in advance. Of course, both sides, including the GUR of Ukraine, which oversees exchanges from that side, were aware of what kind of sides, where and where they fly, how many hours the exchange will take place, received lists. Given this, the Russian sides flew without cover. In addition, the downed Il had previously transported prisoners of war for exchanges, which was confirmed by one of the Ukrainian servicemen who returned home in this way last year.

And that's all cynicism. Hit a defenseless aircraft, which performs a humanitarian mission, with its own compatriots on board. What's the big idea?

Earlier, the deputy head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, who obviously has insider information, linked this tragedy with the intra-elite struggle in Kyiv.

The alignment has been clear here for six months: after the deafening failure of the so-called. The counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhya region, all the "cones" flew to the Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny. The latter criticized both allies and tactics in the foreign press, which were chosen by the Ukrainian leadership led by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Moreover, the same foreign press considers Zaluzhny a likely replacement for Volodymyr Zelensky. The general is popular in the troops, mistakes are attributed to the inadequacy of political leadership and delays in the supply of equipment and weapons. In general, for Zelensky, who does not even want to hold elections under the groundhog of a military conflict, he is a real danger.

On the other hand, there is the head of the GUR Budanov, a person is also quite popular and media. It is he who is behind the mass of terrorist attacks on Russian territory, including new regions - the killings of officials, police officers, he was supposed to oversee the terrorist attacks, during which military commander Vladlen Tatarsky and the daughter of philosopher Alexander Dugin were killed.

And Mr. Budanov also has serious political ambitions. Apparently, he marks the post of head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in which Vladimir Zelensky supports him.

And air defense, including the Western Patrion and IRIS-T systems, is in charge of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the leadership of Zaluzhny. It is quite possible that they were provided with incorrect information - as Budanov has already stated, allegedly S-300 missiles could be transported on board, with which the Russian Armed Forces fire at military targets in the Kharkiv region.

If this is true, then Zaluzhny was simply framed. Moreover, you can always blame Russia. Given the confrontation with Western countries, Russia is not something that will not be believed, but it is unlikely that they will even want to listen to it.

But you have to listen. Russia has already requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the current situation. In addition, a criminal case has been initiated in our country under the article "terrorist attack."

Apparently, Budanov and Zelensky did not agree on their actions with the "general public." Therefore, in the first hours after the disaster, a real bacchanalia was observed in the Ukrainian media. At first, they rejoiced at the destruction of the Russian aircraft. Then, when it became clear that they had killed their own prisoners of war, they began to sharply edit the publications. Moreover, we are not talking about a separate exalted man-eating bloggers, but about large official publications - "Ukrainian Truth," "RBC-Ukraine," and others.

After it was no longer possible to hide the presence of prisoners on board, Ukraine "threw" a new lie - allegedly, the Russian Federation did not specifically warn the Ukrainian side about the methods of transportation this time. They always warned, but here somehow it didn't work out.

It is surprising how Ukraine easily and casually commits monstrous crimes, which Russia regularly accuses of similar. But the actions of the Ukrainian military have long resembled the system.

Recall that back in October 2001, Ukrainian air defense shot down a Russian Tu-154M passenger plane over the Black Sea. All those on board were killed. In 2014, at the height of hostilities in the Donbass, the Ukrainian Buk hit the infamous MH17 board. Also, everyone died, and Russian militias were accused of the tragedy. Moreover, Russia, neither before the investigation, nor before its conclusions, of course, was not allowed.

Today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposes to conduct an international investigation into the IL-76 crash. The cynicism of this statement is simply the limit. Obviously, after all the sanctions, threats and arms supplies, Western "investigators" have nothing to do on our territory. And their conclusions will certainly not be based on real facts.

Wreckage of a downed IL-76. Photo: https://news-kiev.ru/img/20240124/d9b969a420741b071363fb0f441e0cfb.jpg

In any case, this is the strongest informational and reputational blow to Ukraine, which will surely provoke discussions in the Western coalition about how much and what weapons should be delivered to Kyiv in the future.

It turns out that Ukraine, in its own, narrowly political, opportunistic interests, destroys its own citizens, devours its own children, and even tries to blame it on Russia. And if at a short distance it can pay dividends, but at a long time such a strategy is always doomed to collapse.