U.S. officials, speaking under conditions of anonymity, have confirmed that a Russian plane was shot down by a Patriot missile. The IL-76 aircraft, which was probably carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, was partaking in a joint Russian-Ukrainian military exercise when it was downed near Belgorod. While initial reports suggested that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs, American officials indicated that this figure might be overstated. President Putin is quoted as likely saying, "I told you this last week." The incident has been reported by multiple sources including Reuters and The New York Times, with the NYT confirming the use of a Patriot missile.
NYT sources say Patriot missile was used to down Il-76 near Belgorod https://t.co/ywP5Hwte7w
⚡️NYT: American officials confirm Patriot missile shot down Il-76 plane. The American-made Patriot missile system is likely responsible for the Russian Il-76 plane crash, American officials anonymously told The New York Times.
The Zaluzhny firing is the headline news, naturally, but that’s been so obviously coming for more than a week that this revelation below is more interesting. It was my impression that Russia’s POW deaths claim about the downed Il-76 carried little weight, given what little… https://t.co/0vPw6mUEwA
“American officials […] said it appeared probable that at least some of them were Ukrainian prisoners. […] Russia may have overstated the number of deaths.” POW deaths are “probable,” but 65 is an “overstatement”? I wonder what the evidence is here… https://t.co/jr36nDqyL5
New report from @julianbarnes & @MarcSantoraNYT has some new information from U.S. officials on the downing of the Il-76 near Belgorod a couple weeks ago: a Patriot system was used for the downing, and there were likely PoWs on board. But probably not >60. https://t.co/508LwQYfvm https://t.co/expIJyhOwY
So the US has admited that the Il-76 plane carrying Ukrainian POWs was shot down by a Patriot missile.
🇺🇸U.S CONFIRMS PATRIOT MISSILE SHOT DOWN UKRAINE POW PLANE U.S officials, under anonymity, confirmed a Patriot missile was used to shoot down the Russian IL-76 transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs. Putin likely said: "I told you this last week." Source: Reuters https://t.co/DEYReAIoyo
US officials on condition of anonymity confirmed that Ukraine shot down the Il-76 transporting Ukrainian POW’s using Patriot air-defense system - NYT https://t.co/2ZsKJgvd1W
🇺🇸U.S CONFIRMS PATRIOT MISSILE SHOT DOWN UKRAINE POW PLANE U.S officials, under anonymity, confirm a Patriot missile was used to shoot down the Russian IL-76 transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs. Putin likely said: "I told you this a week ago." Source: Reuters. https://t.co/DEYReAIoyo
🇺🇸U.S CONFIRMS PATRIOT MISSILE SHOT DOWN UKRAINE POW PLANE U.S officials, under anonymity, confirm a Patriot missile was used to shoot down the Russian IL-76 transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs. Putin likely said: "I told you this week ago." Source: Reuters. https://t.co/DEYReAIoyo
As I wrote based on my research while propaganda peddlers spread fake news: "A Russian plane shot down with a Patriot missile was probably carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, U.S. officials say." https://t.co/Op5ATJdjjA https://t.co/02BK0ideJr
The plane was shot down during a joint russians Ukrainian military exercise. Let's see what Putin said about it at the time. https://t.co/BZwMXKiF88 https://t.co/Kee8atv5Kw