Kremlin envoy: Russia planned to shoot down a plane carrying Turchynov during the annexation of Crimea
The Presidential Envoy of the newly created Crimean Federal District, Oleg Belaventsev, stated in an interview with Russian channel NTV that the Russians planned to shoot down a plane carrying the then acting President of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, during the annexation of Crimea, Radio Svoboda reported.
According to Belaventsev, Turchynov was planning to fly to Crimea with the Special Forces at the beginning of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia. “But here we make the decisions, nobody bothered us. It was reported that if Turchynov crosses the border, we will shoot him down,” Belaventsev stated.
On the 23rd of February 2014, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, was elected as the acting President of Ukraine during the period needed to ascertain the results of the election of a new President in May 2014.
The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.