A Russian military transport plane crashed on Wednesday, January 24, in southern Russia.
The work of investigators to clarify the circumstances of this crash is proving to be long and complex, especially as speculation will inevitably be numerous about the possible causes, in the midst of the war between Russia and Ukraine. This Wednesday morning, a military transport plane with 74 people on board crashed in the Belgorod region, Russia, very near the border with Ukraine. The information was officially given by the Russian Defense Ministry, which sent a press release to the Russian news agency RIA.
65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board, 6 crew members and 3 other people were also on the aircraft. Investigators and rescuers were sent to the site, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told the Russian press. The Russian government has said it is monitoring the situation closely.
A video of the crash was broadcast on the Telegram messaging network by the Baza account, an account powered in part by Russian communications and security services. We see the aircraft, an Ilyushin II-76, diving and exploding on the ground.