On Wednesday, a Russian military plane, IL-76, crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia, near the Ukrainian border, killing all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) bound for a swap.
The Kharkiv and Belgorod regions have long been the focal points of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, including missile and drone strikes.
The Plane Crash
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the Il-76 Russian military plane crashed five to six kilometres from the village of Yablonovo in the Korocha District of Russia’s borderline Belgorod Region.
“No damage was done to the village, as [the plane] crashed in a field outside the village,” Rev. Georgy, rector of the Dimitri Solunsky church in Yablonovo, informed TASS. The cleric explained that the church and the local school were not affected by the crash.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Telegram, “A transport airplane crashed in the Korochansky district. It went down in a field near a settlement. All those on board died [...] Now, the crash site is cordoned off. All operational services are on site, and investigative measures are being carried out [...] A commission is being sent to the site to establish the causes of the crash.”
The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed that there were 65 Ukrainian POWs, three accompanying people, and six crew members on board.
A video purporting to show the crash surfaced on social media from Russia’s Belgorod border region. It shows a plane falling from the sky in a snowy, rural location, with a huge ball of fire erupting where it hits the ground.
Belgorod publics publish a video of a plane crash in the region.
— Ukraine Front Lines (@EuromaidanPR) January 24, 2024
Previously, it was a russian military transport Il-76.
63 occupiers reportedly dead. pic.twitter.com/ToxMCRmKWq
Russia’s Response
Andrey Kartapolov, the head of the State Duma’s Defence Committee, claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces might have shot down the plane with missiles from the US Patriot surface-to-air missile system or the German IRIS-T.
Additionally, Leonid Slutsky, Head of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs and LDPR leader, claimed that this is “not the first time the Ukrainian military has hit its own,” and that the authorities in Washington and Brussels were equally accountable for the “shooting of POWs in the air.”
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters “I can’t comment on the issue, it’s fairly new, fresh information, we will deal with it now.”
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov asks for an emergency UN Security Council meeting concerning Russian plane crash, accusing Ukraine of shooting down the plane pic.twitter.com/pCDvSujbQd
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 24, 2024
IL-76 Crash a “Terrorist Attack”: Russian FM
Following the crash, Russian Foreign Minister (FM) Sergey Lavrov demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC). Lavrov condemned the plane crash as a “terrorist attack” and blamed Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian prisoners of war were transported to the Belgorod region in order to conduct yet another swap that was agreed between Moscow and Kyiv,” Lavrov said. “Instead of this, the Ukrainian side launched an air defense missile from the Kharkov region. It targeted the airplane and was a fatal strike,” he added.
Ukraine’s Response
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces did not mention the crash in a statement issued just hours after the incident. However, it said that Ukraine targets Russian military transport planes suspected of delivering missiles, particularly those near the border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine will seek an international investigation of what happened. “It’s obvious Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian POWs, with feelings of their relatives and emotions of our society,” Zelensky remarked.
⚡️Zelensky on Il-76 crash: Ukraine to demand international investigation, fate of POWs unknown.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) January 24, 2024
The president said that Ukraine will insist on an international investigation into the crash of the Russian Il-76 transport plane in Belgorod Oblast.https://t.co/GpBeTfg2mO
Zelensky claimed that he spoke with Ukraine’s military leadership, including Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Chief of General Staff Serhii Shaptala, about the crash. He added that the Ukrainian Security Service is investigating the circumstances behind the plane’s crash.
“We need to establish all the clear facts. As much as possible, given that the plane went down on Russian territory — beyond our control. ‘Facts’ is the key word now,” Zelensky reiterated.
Meanwhile, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby commented on the plane crash, saying, “We’ve seen the reports, but we’re not in any position to confirm them.”