What we know about the crash of a Russian military plane in the Belgorod region

A crash and many uncertainties. On Wednesday January 24, a Russian transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine. Russian authorities say 74 people on board the plane were killed, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners who were on board for a detainee exchange.

Russian investigators say they have found documents identifying Ukrainian prisoners at the crash site. Moscow accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane, but Kiev confirmed neither the shooting nor the presence of Ukrainian prisoners on board. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about the crash.

The plane crashed near the border

The Russian Defense Ministry announced in a press release broadcast on Telegram on Wednesday that an Il-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region at 11:15 a.m. (9:15 a.m. in Paris). The plane took off from the Chkalovsky military airport northeast of Moscow and was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners who were to be exchanged with Russian military personnel. “At the Kolotilovka checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border”, refers to the text. According to Moscow, a crew of six people and three Russian soldiers were also on board and were killed.

Verified by , presented as crash images New York Times, show the collapse of a plane, which then crashed in Yablonovo, about 40 km northeast of Belgorod. Russia’s official Tass news agency also released a video showing debris in a snow-covered field.

For several weeks, the Russian region of Belgorod has been the scene of frequent Ukrainian missile and drone attacks. In late December, its capital was the target of a strike that killed 25 people, the deadliest against civilians on Russian soil since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, the bombing has continued. The answer is increasing. Moscow’s forces in Ukraine undermine the Kremlin’s discourse that Russians’ daily lives are not disrupted by the conflict.

Moscow says it has evidence of prisoners on board

Two days after the tragedy, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that the Russian Investigative Committee had found documents attributed to Ukrainian prisoners at the scene. “There are documents from Ukrainian servicemen who died in the disaster, confirming their identities, as well as documents from the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia,” Cites the agency.

On Telegram, the Russian Investigative Committee also claimed that the body parts of the victims were being examined and that “Some parts of the victim’s body, typical tattoos (from Ukrainian soldiers) “Similar symbols were recorded on the bodies of several members of the Ukrainian armed forces, including the Azov battalion, who were previously questioned in connection with criminal cases”, Supports Commission of Inquiry.

On Telegram, Kiev acknowledged that a prisoner exchange was planned on the day of the crash, but did not confirm the presence of Ukrainian troops on the crashed plane. Ukraine’s human rights commissioner says Russia is in any case “Security Officer” Detainees in accordance with the Geneva Convention. He called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to go “Inspect the Premises” No crash.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia responded to it There were Ukrainian leaders “Fully aware that, in accordance with established practice, Ukrainian soldiers were to be taken to Belgorod airfield for exchange today by military transport aircraft.”