Ukraine has not accused Russia of shooting down Ukrainian military planes in the military operation area in the eastern part of the country but only suggested it as one of the theories of the July 23 incident, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.
“We haven’t accused anyone yet,” Lysenko said at a news conference in
Kyiv, adding that “Russia’s immediate involvement in the plane crashes
is only one of the working theories.”
“More detailed information would be available after the surviving pilots are questioned and provide their information,” he said.
The pilots of the two Su-25 planes that were shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 23 “are not in captivity,” Lysenko said.
The planes were downed in the area of Saur-Mohyla while on a mission
to provide an air umbrella for ground units defending the village of
Tarany, the Donetsk region.
Lysenko said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday that two Su-25
attack planes had been shot down not from Ukrainian territory. “Having
successfully performed their mission, the Ukrainian pilots were fired
upon from powerful anti-aircraft systems. Two planes were intercepted at
an altitude of 5,200 meters. Preliminary information indicates that the
missiles were fired from Russian territory,” Lysenko said.
“Preliminary findings indicate that these missiles were fired precisely from across the border,” he said.
