IL-76 crash in the Belgorod region: SBU investigates violation of laws of war

The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal investigation into the crash of the IL-76 military transport plane in the Belgorod region of Russia.

The SBU press service informed Babel about this in a comment.

The case was opened under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war. The SBU is currently carrying out a series of measures to clarify all the circumstances of the plane crash. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

• On the morning of January 24, an Il-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that it was shot down, and on board were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, 6 crew members and 3 escorts — all of them died. The Russian authorities announced the disruption of the exchange of prisoners. The Russian Federation did not provide any evidence that there were PoWs on the plane.
• The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that the exchange was planned for January 24. They emphasized that Russia had warned in the past about the need for Belgorodʼs airspace security during exchanges, but this time it was silent.
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine indirectly confirmed that Ukrainian troops shot down an Il-76, adding that the enemy uses such aircraft to deliver ammunition and missiles to Belgorod, which are used to fire at Kharkiv and the region. In its statement, the General Staff did not mention the alleged death of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
• The commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces hinted that the statement of the Russians about the shooting down of their own prisoners of war by Ukraine is a special operation in order to reduce international support.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the military and special services to thoroughly understand the situation. Ukraine will insist on an international investigation of the event.