In what appears Moscow's "answer" to the US and NATO countries continuing to supply major weapons systems to Ukrainian forces, state agency TASS is claiming that Russian forces have brought down a Ukrainian military transport plane that was transporting Western arms. It would mark a massive battlefield development if confirmed, potentially escalating conflict more directly with the West, now that Russia is actively targeting Western arms shipments.
The alleged shoot down occurred outside Odessa via anti-air systems, says TASS, while citing Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov. Though remaining unconfirmed, China state media has also picked up the report, citing the defense ministry statement, which reads:
“Near Odesa Russian anti-aircraft defense forces have shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane, which was delivering a large shipment of arms supplied to Ukraine by Western counties,” Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said Saturday.
However, there's nothing in the way of independent or outside sources confirming it, and Ukraine's military has not issued any statements, nor are they likely to admit that their military aircraft were transporting Western weapons shipments, even if accurate.
Days ago, the Kremlin repeated its threat to attack any inbound shipments of weaponry or supplies coming from Ukraine's Western backers. The military also said it would hit "decision-making centers" - and on Saturday long-range missiles reportedly struck weapons depots in Kiev.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon and US State Department have continued positively boasting that more weapons are en route, in a continuing escalation...
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