ST. PETERSBURG. Jan 26 (Interfax) - The Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane was downed over Belgorod with a foreign (U.S. or European) air defense system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Russian forces could not have done this due to the friend-or-foe system, he said.
"It could not have been 'friendly fire,' as they say in such cases, under any circumstances, as the plane was hit by air defense systems, not some army weapon such as MANPADS, and so on," he said at a meeting with students who are participating in the special military operation.
"Our air defense systems cannot strike our plane by definition. Friend-or-foe systems are installed on them, and our air defense systems would not have worked no matter how many times the operator pressed the button," Putin said.
"It was most likely U.S. Patriot systems or European air defense systems, most likely French ones," Putin said.
"A precise answer will be given in two or three days," he said.
Putin also spoke about the details of how the plane was downed. "Two missile launches were registered from territories controlled by the Kiev regime, at 11:00 a.m. The aircraft was hit two to three minutes later. It was practically impossible to react," he said.
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