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In a perplexing incident that has raised more questions than answers, a Russian military transport aircraft on Wednesday met a tragic fate as it crashed in the Belgorod region near the Ukraine border. Video footage verified by Reuters showed aircraft IL-76 crashing near the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region.
The IL-76, a stalwart of the Russian fleet since its inception in the 1970s, serves as a versatile military transport aircraft.Its capabilities extend to transporting a wide range of cargo, including troops, tanks, howitzers, and ammunition, fulfilling a variety of roles in both civilian and military operations.
The incident, which resulted in the loss of all 74 souls on board, has left authorities and observers grappling with uncertainty. Was it a missile strike or a catastrophic technical failure that led to this disaster?
Planes keep crashing…
The IL-76, a stalwart of the Russian fleet since its inception in the 1970s, serves as a versatile military transport aircraft.Its capabilities extend to transporting a wide range of cargo, including troops, tanks, howitzers, and ammunition, fulfilling a variety of roles in both civilian and military operations.
The incident, which resulted in the loss of all 74 souls on board, has left authorities and observers grappling with uncertainty. Was it a missile strike or a catastrophic technical failure that led to this disaster?
Planes keep crashing…
- Russia lost two warplanes and two helicopters in its own airspace in one day in May 2023. Ukraine officials initially denied involvement, but later said they had used Patriot missiles to hit the aircraft.
- In the backdrop of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine since February 2022, the Russian military has experienced a series of aircraft mishaps.
- Recently, Kyiv claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft and inflicting damage on an Il-22 bomber in the vicinity of the Azov Sea. Additionally, the previous year witnessed the crash of a plane associated with the leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, along with an incident involving an Su-34 fighter bomber in Yeysk.
Conflicting claims and blame game
- The wreckage of the Ilyushin Il-76 offers little clarity, with initial images showing the aircraft’s final moments before erupting into a massive fireball.
- Russian authorities have pointed fingers at Ukrainian missiles, alleging that they were responsible for downing the plane, which tragically carried 65 prisoners of war, six crew members, and three Russian personnel.
- The Russian defense ministry asserts that the plane was destroyed by an anti-aircraft missile system from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, a claim that adds a layer of complexity given the distance and capabilities of Ukrainian ground-to-air missile systems.
Ukraine’s calculated silence and Zelenskyy’s response
- Interestingly, Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the downing. The Ukrainian military has said its intent to continue targeting Russian military transport aircraft that it perceives as threats, especially those in the Belgorod region.
- Ukrainian military intelligence suggests that the lack of airspace security coordination for the transport plane might point to deliberate and planned actions by Russia to destabilize the situation and weaken international support for Ukraine.
- Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the incident, condemning Russia for “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners” and the emotions of the Ukrainian society. - “We need to establish all the clear facts. As much as possible, given that the downing of the plane occurred on Russian territory, which is beyond our control,” he said in a video published on social media.
- But he also did not confirm or deny Ukraine’s involvement in the downing but stressed the complexity of the situation and the difficulty in establishing clear facts due to the incident occurring on Russian territory.
- Now the question is: Were Ukrainians aware of the aircraft’s mission to transport prisoners for an exchange, and if so, was this information communicated to the units stationed near the border?
US or German missiles?
- Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general and current member of the Russian parliament, conveyed to the SHOT news outlet that Ukrainian operators of surface-to-air missile systems could not have confused transport planes with military aircraft or helicopters.
- He firmly said, “It was done deliberately to sabotage the prisoner exchange.” Kartapolov revealed that a second Russian Il-76 transport plane, which was en route to the exchange carrying approximately 80 Ukrainian soldiers, narrowly avoided a similar fate by turning around in time.
- With ties to the Russian defense ministry, Kartapolov asserted that the aircraft was targeted and brought down by three missiles, suggesting that these were either US-made Patriot or German-made IRIS-T systems.
- The involvement of such advanced defense systems, if proven true, would mark a significant shift in the conflict’s dynamics, challenging Ukraine’s commitment to not using foreign-donated weapons to attack Russian territory.
- Adding to the complexity is the puzzling detail of the Ukrainian POWs being guarded by a mere three Russian personnel on the plane, a stark contrast to previous practices. This disaster, laden with political implications and a multitude of unanswered questions, has quickly evolved into another chapter in the ongoing information war. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, emphasized the critical role of information warfare, hinting at the insidious tactics employed by adversaries in this conflict.
What others are saying
- “We’ve seen the reports, but we’re not in any position to confirm them,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
- Separately, a US official said it was not clear that there were actually Ukrainian POWs aboard the aircraft that crashed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that haven’t been announced publicly.
- Hours after the crash, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made no mention of the crash in a statement. But it added that Ukraine targets Russian military transport planes believed to be delivering missiles, especially near the border.
Context and ongoing tensions
The incident is set against a backdrop of nearly two years of conflict, with frequent prisoner swaps between Moscow and Kyiv. The Belgorod region has been a hotspot, facing frequent attacks, including a December missile strike that claimed 25 lives. This tragic event in Belgorod adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing war, with both sides accusing each other and the truth caught in the crossfire of conflicting narratives.
As the situation unfolds, the call for an impartial international investigation grows louder, with the aim to establish the facts amidst the fog of war. The international community watches closely, hoping for clarity and a de-escalation of tensions.
(With inputs from agencies)
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