Military plane carrying 74 passengers, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners, crashes in Russia
Ukraine has neither denied nor confirmed involvement in the incident. In a post on Telegram, the Ukrainian authority said that the Russian accusation could be “a planned action to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for our state.”
The Ukrainian government has a habit of neither confirming nor denying attacks on Russian territory attributed to Ukraine.
The plane was carrying 74 people. including 65 Ukrainian prisoners who, according to the Russian government, were to be exchanged with Russian prisoners. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the plane crashed in Belgorod at around 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. Brazil time).
In its statement on Telegram, Ukrainian military intelligence said that an exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war was indeed planned and that the government of Ukraine had complied with all the conditions, but Russia had not been informed about the number of aircraft. the prisoners transported and their routes.
“At the same time, the Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to ensure the safety of airspace in the territory of the city of Belgorod in a certain period, as was repeatedly the case in the past,” the agency says.
The Russian news agency RIA reported on Russian radars, citing the Defense Ministry discovered the launch of two Ukrainian missiles. O The ministry accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane and cited the case of a “Act of barbarism”.
Without confirming or denying responsibility for the plane crash, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it did not yet have “reliable” information about who was on the plane, but confirmed that a prisoner exchange with Russia was planned for this Wednesday just.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Vladimir Putin, said without evidence that Ukrainian forces knew it was a plane carrying national passengers but shot it down anyway due to “internal power struggles.”
In a video from a Belgorod resident capturing the moment of the fall (see video above), It is possible to see a small cloud of smoke in the air after the plane crashes and explodes on the ground.
An aviation expert told the British BBC broadcaster that the The recorded smoke plume is compatible with that produced by rockets after they explode (see picture below). At a meeting in the Russian parliament in Moscow, MP Andrei Kartapolov, a former general in the Russian armed forces, said the plane was shot down by missiles.
1 of 4 Cloud of smoke seen after plane crash in Russia. — Photo: Reproduction/Portal A cloud of smoke is seen after a plane crash in Russia. — Photo: Reproduction/Portal
The accusation further escalates tensions between Ukraine and Russia as Russian attacks escalate in the nearly twoyear war between the two countries.
Since the end of December Russian troops have shelled civilian targets in major cities in Ukraine , according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks in contrast to the war scenario in the country in 2023, with more concentrated actions on the fronts.
In addition to the 65 Ukrainians, the plane was also carrying six crew members and three other people who could not be identified as of the last update of this report.
2 of 4 military plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners crashes in Russia. — Photo: G1 military plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners crashes in Russia. — Photo: g1
According to the Belgorod governor, the plane crashed at around 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. Brazilian time) in a residential area in the Korochansky district, northeast of the city of Belgorod. The governor did not say whether any homes or residents were affected by the fall.
According to the Russian press a second plane also carried Ukrainians for the same passenger exchange, but the plane managed to deviate from the route and continued flying.
The plane comes from Model Ilyushin Il76, designed for military transport of troops, cargo, military equipment and weapons. The crew consists of five people and can carry up to 90 passengers.
3 of 4 military plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners crashes in Russia and 74 die. The plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners. Photo: Reproduction/Portal Military plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners crashes in Russia, 74 people die. The plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners. Photo: Reproduction/Portal 4 of 4 Ukrainians detained by the Russian army upon their release on January 3, 2023 Photo: Disclosure/Army of Ukraine/Via Portal Ukrainians detained by the Russian army upon their release on were January 3, 2023 Photo: Disclosure/Ukrainian Army/Via Portal
After months of diplomatic and frontline standoffs, Ukraine and Russia returned to prisonerofwar exchanges in January.
Russia is carrying out massive attacks on several regions of Ukraine