The tragedy happened in northern Greece. An Antonov cargo plane crashed near the town of Paleochori Kavalas on Saturday evening, killing all eight crew members, Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said on Sunday.
The Antonov 12, owned by a Ukrainian company Meridian LTD, was carrying about 11 tonnes of armaments, including illuminating mortar mines, bound for Bangladesh, the minister said.
A transaction “in accordance with international rules”
“As for the identity of the crew, I think they are also Ukrainians, but we have no information on this subject, they are not Serbs”, specified Nebojsa Stefanovic during a press conference.
The plane took off from Nis airport (southern Serbia) on Saturday around 8:40 p.m. The exporter of these armaments is the private Serbian company Valir. The minister insisted it was a deal agreed with Bangladesh’s defense ministry “in accordance with international rules”.
A flight that was not bound for kyiv
“Unfortunately some media have speculated that this flight was allegedly transporting weapons to Ukraine, which is completely untrue,” he said. Since 2016, the date from which each arms order is listed in electronic form, Serbia has not issued any authorization for any arms export to Ukraine or Russia, said Nebojsa Stefanovic.
According to the minister, the majority of cargo planes carrying armaments are of Soviet production and in the possession of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. With Russia and Belarus under international sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine, only Ukrainian transport planes are active and “engaged around the world”.
Emergency landing request
“Apart from the fact that they are the property of Ukrainian companies, no other link exists between these goods and Ukraine,” the minister said. The Antonov crashed on Saturday evening near the town of Paleochori Kavalas. Witnesses saw the plane on fire and heard explosions, Athens News reported.
According to press reports, the plane had just requested an emergency landing permit at the Greek airport of Kavala, but did not complete the maneuver in time.