{"id":20930,"date":"2024-01-26T09:55:55","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T07:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=20930"},"modified":"2024-01-26T09:55:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T07:55:56","slug":"moscow-and-kyiv-clash-over-downed-il-76-plane-russia-accuses-ukraine-of-killing-65-pows-zelenskyy-demands-international-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/moscow-and-kyiv-clash-over-downed-il-76-plane-russia-accuses-ukraine-of-killing-65-pows-zelenskyy-demands-international-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Moscow and Kyiv clash over downed Il-76 plane, Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 65 POWs, Zelenskyy demands international probe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The downing of a Russian military transport plane, carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and nine Russians, raises questions and suspicions as Russia alleges that Ukraine shot down the Ilyushin-76 plane over the Belgorod border region. Ukraine did not confirm or deny it had shot down the plane but challenged Moscow\u2019s claims.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian Ministry of Defense said 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) were on the plane along with six Russian crew and three Russian soldiers. All were killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian military said the Ukrainian POWs were being flown to the region for a prisoner swap. Ukrainian authorities confirmed a prisoner exchange was scheduled but said it was called off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyiv initially remained silent as details of the plane crash emerged Wednesday morning. Later, Ukraine\u2019s intelligence agency said that it did not have \u201creliable and comprehensive information about who exactly was on board the plane and how many of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


What happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 24,\u00a0the Il-76 plane was hit as it was travelling from a military aerodrome near Moscow to Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine and has been targeted in recent weeks by Ukrainian air strikes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Videos of the crash posted on social media showed the Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft falling from the sky in a snowy, rural area, as a massive ball of fire erupted. International media outlets could not independently confirm who was aboard or how the plane was downed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Crash<\/a>
Experts investigative the crash site of the Russian military transport plane Il-76 that crashed in a border region near Ukraine on January 24, 2024. Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting it down. (Image Credit: RIA Novosti)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ukraine military intelligence said Kyiv was not asked to ensure air space security around the Belgorod area in southern Russia as had been the case during previous prisoner swaps with Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, we can assume various scenarios, including provocation, as well as the use of Ukrainian prisoners as a human shield for transporting ammunition and weapons for S-300 systems,\u201d Andriy Yusov, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson. told Radio Liberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Key Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n