A Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft has crashed this Wednesday near Belgorod, in Southwestern Russia. Reuters confirmed the incident and, citing Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, said the country’s defence ministry claimed the aircraft carried Ukrainian prisoners of war to be exchanged.
“Around 11h, Moscow time, an Il-76 aircraft has crashed during a flight in the Belgorod region”, stated the ministry, cited by RIA Novosti. “Onboard were 65 captured Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen […] six crewmembers and three accompanying persons”.
Reuters “could not immediately verify details of who was onboard”, but it noted prisoner swaps are common between Russia and Ukraine.
In a Telegram post verified by Reuters and published by Baza, a channel the news agency notes is linked to Russia’s security services, a large aircraft could be seen falling “near to the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region and exploding in a vast fireball”.
This is a developing story.
