RUSSIA'S REACTION:THE BODY of Polish president Lech Kaczynski left Russia accompanied by full military honours following a ceremony attended by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.
In a televised address to the Polish people on Saturday, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced that today would be a national day of mourning in Russia. As well as expressing his sorrow and solidarity with Poland, Mr Medvedev promised that a full investigation would be carried out into the tragedy in co-operation with the Polish authorities.
The president’s brother and former Polish prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, identified his body late on Saturday. The remains of other victims of the crash were transported to Moscow, where relatives arrived during the weekend to identify them.
Mr Putin is heading the investigation commission, which also includes deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov and minister of foreign affairs Sergei Lavrov.
Evidence is being collected from the retrieved black box and the aircraft’s wreckage, as well as recordings of conversations held between its pilots and Russian air traffic controllers. Investigation committee member Alexander Bastrykin told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the pilot was informed about difficult weather conditions but still made the decision to land.
Mr Putin first visited the site of the crash site on Saturday and laid flowers to honour the dead, alongside Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
News of the tragedy has been received with dismay in Moscow and a steady stream arrived to lay flowers at the Polish embassy. The ground was covered with candles, handwritten notes and flowers – most of them red and white, the colours of the Polish flag.
One woman laying a flower on the growing pile was Valentina Lvovna. Visibly upset, she said she had come because relations between the two nations had been so tense in the past.
“I’m really upset, it’s such a great tragedy and, for it to happen at Katyn, where so many lives were already lost, makes it even worse,” Ms Lvovna said.