IL-76 plane crash: Russia\u2019s FSB pulled Russian VIP officials off the plane at the last moment, only five bodies were delivered to a morgue in Belgorod. PACE calls on national parliaments to recognize Russia\u2019s deportations of Ukrainian children as genocide. Two more countries join a drone capability coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several high-ranking Russian officials were scheduled to be on board the IL-76 military aircraft which came down in Russia\u2019s Belgorod region on Wednesday. At the last moment, Russia\u2019s security service warned them not to get on the plane, Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine\u2019s Defense Ministry, told Radio Liberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeveral Russian \u2018VIP officials\u2019 from the political-military leadership of the aggressor state were scheduled to be on the plane for the flight. Their names are known and will be made public, and materials will be provided as part of an international investigation. But at the last moment, FSB [Russia\u2019s Federal Security Service] actually ordered them not to board this plane and use other modes of transportation. This information was clarified after the event occurred,\u201d Yusov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FSB and military ordered officials from the ministry of emergency situations to leave the crash site before they had completed their investigation, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[Rescue workers] were not allowed to check and locate the crash site according to protocols,\u201d Yusov said. He added that video footage and photographs from the crash site did not show any human remains. He also claimed that \u201conly five bodies ended up in the morgue in Belgorod.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe number equals that of the crew needed to man the IL-76 aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces,\u201d Yusov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) unanimously passed a resolution Thursday on the situation of the children of Ukraine. In the resolution, the Assembly calls on its member states to recognize Russia\u2019s deportations of Ukrainian children as an act of genocide, Oleksiy Honcharenko, Ukrainian MP and chairperson of PACE\u2019s Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons said on Telegram Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[The resolution] is an important document that [brings us] one step closer to holding the Russians liable for their crimes against the Ukrainians. Abduction of our children, their illegal deportation and adoption into Russian families are deliberate acts aimed at erasing their Ukrainian identity,\u201d Honcharenko said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resolution also urges PACE\u2019s member states hosting Ukrainian refugees with children to continue to provide essential services to them, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Yevhenia Kravchuk, Ukrainian MP and PACE member, more clauses on children\u2019s protection have been added to the text, compared to the resolution on Russia\u2019s deportation of Ukrainian children passed last April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resolution restates that Russia\u2019s deportation of Ukrainian children could be genocide. The Assembly calls on its member states to step up support for Ukrainian government agencies and non-governmental organizations that work with internally displaced children. The Assembly also welcomes Ukraine\u2019s efforts to establish an international coalition of countries to return Ukrainian children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 27, 2023, PACE created an ad-hoc committee to address the violations of Ukrainian children\u2019s rights by Russia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On December 9, 2023, Ukraine\u2019s first lady, Olena Zelenska, said that Ukraine had returned 387 children through third countries of almost 20,000 abducted by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine has brought back home from Russia 517 illegally deported children and 2,828 adults, including only 150 civilians, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets said during a meeting of national security advisers from around the world on Ukraine\u2019s Peace Formula in Davos on January 14, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweden and the UK have joined a coalition to bolster Ukraine\u2019s drone and electronic warfare capabilities, Ukrainian media said on Thursday, citing the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Swedish Defense Minister, P\u00e5l Jonson announced the decision at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on January 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UK will co-lead the coalition with Latvia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTechnology, not people will fight. The drone coalition will bring us one step closer to this goal. It will save many lives. By strengthening and developing production of unmanned aircraft systems, we are transforming the army and making latest technology a reality,\u201d Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine and Latvia launched the drone and electronic warfare capability coalition during the visit of Latvian Defense Minister, Andris Spruds to Kyiv in mid-December 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the beginning of January 2024, Latvia took the lead in assembling a coalition to arm Ukraine with drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n