Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, commented on the downing of Russian aircraft in Russia's Bryansk Region on the air of the news telethon, Ukrinform reports.
"First of all, Putin himself contributed to the downing (of the planes - ed.) when he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He attacked back in 2014, when he annexed Crimea and started a war in Donbas. Had there been no invasion, there would have been no planes and helicopters falling down," Yusov said.
"We can continue to use allegories about violations of fire safety standards, about smoking - perhaps this time the helicopters themselves were smoking... There are official statements that Russian air defence systems are responsible for this," he added.
According to Yusov, the main thing is that these aircraft "are falling, and will continue to fall".
On 13 April, two Russian Mi-8 helicopters, as well as Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft, crashed in Russia's Bryansk region. The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, said that Russian air defence was to blame.