Katyn II: 15 years since the death of the Polish delegation in a plane crash near Smolensk
15 years ago under Smolensk The Tu-154 plane crashed, with passengers on board Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other high-ranking Polish officials. The plane was en route to a memorial service in Katyn. All 96 people on board were killed.
"NeMoscow" has reconstructed the chronology of events.
1. In the spring of 1940, during World War II, more than 4 Polish officers captured by Soviet troops were executed in the Katyn forest. This fact was long denied by the Soviet authorities, leading to much controversy. Only in 1990, after the release of archival documents, did the Soviet Union officially acknowledge its responsibility for these crimes. On April 10, 2010, annual commemorative events, organized by the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, were planned at the Polish military cemetery in Katyn.
2. On April 10, 2010, at 10:50 a.m., Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and accompanying diplomats were en route to the Katyn memorial service on a Polish Air Force plane. While approaching Smolensk in heavy fog, the plane clipped treetops on the outskirts of Pechersk in the Smolensk region and crashed at 220 km/h. All on board were killed: 88 members of the Polish delegation and eight crew members.
3. On January 12, 2011, the IAC released a report on the results of the technical investigation into the crash. The immediate cause of the accident was determined to be the crew's decision not to divert to an alternate airfield, descending below the minimum altitude of 100 meters, and ignoring the ground proximity warning system. The systemic causes were identified as deficiencies in flight operations and crew training.
4. The technical investigation also established that Polish Air Force Commander-in-Chief Andrzej Błasik, who had alcohol in his system, was in the cockpit during the landing. Experts, including Polish ones, concluded that his presence created additional pressure on the pilots, which influenced their decision to land the plane in Smolensk despite warnings from air traffic controllers.
5. At the crash site, a memorial plaque was initially installed with the text: "President Kaczyński died en route to the 70th anniversary of the Soviet genocide against Polish army officers and prisoners of war." On the anniversary of the crash, the day before the Polish delegation's arrival, this text was replaced with a new one: "In memory of the 96 Poles, led by Lech Kaczyński, President of the Republic of Poland, who died in the plane crash over Smolensk on April 10, 2010."
6. Numerous conspiracy theories have arisen around the disaster. One of the most prominent proponents of alternative theories is Russian journalist and former aeronautical engineer Mark Solonin. He claimed that the plane was blown up, and that the airliner's destruction occurred in mid-air, not upon impact with the ground.
7. Conspiracy theories surrounding the crash also circulated widely in Poland. Despite the official investigation, many Polish politicians expressed doubts about the official cause of the crash. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the Polish opposition Law and Justice party and brother of deceased President Lech Kaczyński, has long maintained that the crash could not have been the result of human error or technical problems, but rather the result of a political conspiracy.
8. Russia's repeated refusals to hand over the plane wreckage to Poland only exacerbated the situation. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the wreckage was material evidence in the crash case, and its fate could only be determined after the investigation was completed. In 2024, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreyev stated that the wreckage would remain in Russia until the Polish prosecutor's office closed the case.
9. Today, April 10, the Polish National Prosecutor's Office extended the investigation until December 31, 2025. Since the investigation began, the case file now contains approximately 2000 volumes. A translation of the international expert group's report is expected by the end of spring, which could significantly impact the case's progress.
The death of the president and a quarter of the Polish leadership in a plane crash became a national tragedy in Poland and was dubbed "Katyn-2"
