According to the statement made by the Russian Ministry of Defense, there were 74 people on the plane, 65 of whom were Ukrainian prisoners. While the statement made by the Ukrainian front claimed that the plane crashed by them, the Kremlin announced that, contrary to Ukraine’s statement, there was an S-300 defense system on the plane.
Russian warplane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners crashed! Flash claim from Ukraine!
STATEMENT FROM THE KREMLIN
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov’s secretary told the Russian press: “An investigation has been launched into the incident, we are interested. It is too early to make a statement.” According to information received from the Russia-based RIA news agency, there were a crew of 6 people and 3 more people on the plane.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced that he would be sent to the scene for investigation, and it was also reported that emergency teams were working in the area. It was learned that the Il-76, which was learned to be a military cargo plane, could carry up to 90 passengers.
THEY WERE BEING TAKEN FOR A POWER EXCHANGE.
Russian Ria Novosti news agency also reported that there were a total of nine Russians on the plane, six of whom were crew. The agency claimed that Ukrainian soldiers were taken to Belgorod for a “prisoner exchange”. Ukrainian officials claimed that the plane was shot down by their own forces.
Contrary to Russia’s statement, Ukraine announced that the plane had an S-300 missile defense system. In the statement of Ukrainian General Staff officials published in the publication Pravda, there was no statement that there were any prisoners of war on the crashed plane.
IMAGES SPREAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A video of the moment the Ilyushin-76 type military transport plane crashed was also shared. In the video shared on social media, the moment the plane crashed into Yablonovo, 70 kilometers north-east of Belogorod, exploded.