Russian military plane crashes with 65 Ukrainian prisoners on board: Mystery shrouds the incident
The crash happened near the town of Yablochnoye in the Belgorod region. Multiple videos from the crash site have surfaced on social media. One of these videos, published by the channel Baza, shows a large plane plummeting towards the ground and exploding.
10:55 PM EST, January 24, 2024
Plane crash carrying prisoners?
The Russian services claim that the plane crashed around 11 AM Moscow time. Reportedly, there were 65 Ukrainian soldiers, six crew members, and three security guards on board.
Andrei Kartapolov, a member of the Russian Duma, blames Ukraine for the crash. He insists that the Il-76 was downed by rockets provided to Ukraine by the West. The Ukrainian Coordinating Headquarters for the Exchange of Prisoners of War announced that they are investigating all crash information. They advised the public against spreading unverified information.
We are aware of the terrible tactics Russia may employ to destabilize Ukrainian society. Don't fall for their provocations - stated the Ukrainian human rights spokesperson Dmytro Lubinets.
In fact, a prisoner-of-war exchange with Russia was planned on Wednesday, January 24. However, it remains uncertain if they were on board the crashed plane.
Anton Herashchenko released several videos allegedly from the crash site, shared by Russian channels on Telegram. Allegedly, burnt bodies are visible in the footage.
Russian Telegram channels post videos supposedly captured at the crash site of the Il-76. They claim that two burnt bodies are near the aircraft - he wrote.
Yet, there's still a shortage of official data about the crash. Several commenters have pointed out that no bodies are visible and the crash site looks suspicious. They note that parts of the plane are missing and the visible parts are strewn around unnaturally.
