It’s a battle of narratives. Russia and Ukraine both maintain their version and accuse each other of the crash of a plane on Wednesday near the Ukrainian border, in the Russian region of Belgorod. The plane was transporting, according to Moscow, 65 Ukrainian prisoners with a view to an exchange. President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international investigation.
Information to remember
⇒ Russia: extended pre-trial detention for American journalist Gershkovich
⇒ Russian plane crash: kyiv and Moscow blame each other
⇒ White House presses for new aid to Ukraine
Russia: extended pre-trial detention for American journalist Gershkovich
This Friday, January 26, a Moscow court extended by two months the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich, American journalist from Wall Street Journal arrested at the end of March 2023 in Russia for “espionage”, an accusation rejected by his defense. “The period of detention of Evan Gershkovich […] is extended by two months […]until March 30, 2024,” the press service of the Lefortovski court said in a statement published on Telegram.
The hearing was held behind closed doors. The court broadcast a video showing the 32-year-old journalist listening to the decision read by a judge, arms crossed, in the cage reserved for detainees. Report to Wall Street JournalEvan Gershkovich, who also worked for the AFP in Moscow in the past, was arrested by the Russian security services (FSB) during a report in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, in March 2023.
He is accused of espionage, a crime punishable by 20 years in prison, but he rejects these accusations, as do the United States, his newspaper, his relatives and his family. Russia has never substantiated its accusations or publicly provided evidence, and the proceedings have been classified secret.
Russian plane crash: kyiv and Moscow continue to blame each other
Russia and Ukraine maintained their versions, sharply exchanging accusations, during the meeting of the UN Security Council organized on Thursday, the day after the crash of the aircraft which, according to the Russian authorities, was transporting 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange. Russian deputy ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy accused the Ukrainians of having wanted to “sabotage the procedure” of exchanging prisoners “in the most barbaric way” and of having agreed to “sacrifice their own citizens for the geopolitical interests of the West.
Deputy Ukrainian Ambassador Khrystyna Hayovyshyn refuted his accusations, saying that if the presence of prisoners on board was confirmed, Russia would have to account for a “new violation of international humanitarian law.” This would be “the first case of using human shields in the air to cover the transport of missiles,” she denounced.
On Wednesday, an Il-76 transport plane crashed near the Russian village of Yablonovo, 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, killing all 74 occupants, according to Russian authorities. According to them, 65 Ukrainian prisoners who were going to be exchanged were there, with a crew of six people and three Russian soldiers. Russian investigators repeated the version put forward by Moscow, according to which “the plane was attacked by an anti-aircraft missile from Ukrainian territory.” However, Russia has not provided any proof of the identity of the passengers.
The Ukrainian human rights commissioner, Dmytro Loubinets, called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to “inspect the scene” of the crash. The ICRC, refusing any “speculation”, affirmed that it “does not know what happened”. kyiv did not confirm having shot down the plane, but stressed its desire to continue targeting military targets on Russian territory. And Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) insisted on the lack of “reliable and complete information” regarding the plane’s passengers. President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international investigation.
White House presses for aid to Ukraine amid Trump’s opposition
The White House on Thursday urged US senators to reach an agreement on essential aid to Ukraine, after reports that Donald Trump is seeking to torpedo any progress on the issue. According to American media, the big favorite of the right for the presidential election is encouraging Republicans to oppose the agreement to deprive his rival, Democratic President Joe Biden, of a political victory before the November election.
In recent weeks, Republican elected officials have put pressure on the Biden administration by linking any new aid to Ukraine to stricter measures against immigration, one of Donald Trump’s campaign themes. An agreement between Republican and Democratic senators appeared to be on the verge of being reached in recent days. The budget intended for aid to Ukraine has been exhausted due to lack of agreement in Congress, while Kiev is increasingly concerned about the lack of aid from the United States and the European Union, its main support since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Reception of Ukrainians in the EU: the 27 reflect on post-2025
European interior ministers discussed on Thursday the future of the reception of some 4.2 million Ukrainians who currently benefit from temporary protection status in the EU until March 2025. “Like you As you know, unfortunately, the war is not over. And the temporary protection measures must end in March 2025. It is sooner than it seems,” declared the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor, whose country holds the six-monthly presidency of the Council of the EU.
She indicated that it was “legally possible” to extend these measures. But “we have to think about different scenarios, because we do not yet know where we will be in March 2025,” she added after a meeting with her counterparts in Brussels. She said the ministers had “reiterated their commitment to Ukraine and its citizens”, and decided to continue the discussion with the Commission and the Ukrainian authorities on the issue.