Russia Says Ukraine Shot Down Military Plane, Killing 74
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of shooting down a Russian military transport plane that killed all 74 on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers were also on the Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft shot down near the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine did not directly confirm it had downed the plane nor that Ukrainian prisoners were on board.
But after a long pause, the Ukrainian military said it would continue to destroy Russian military transport aircraft it believed were carrying missiles to strike Ukraine.
Local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the “transport plane crashed in the Korochansky district. It fell in a field near the village. All those on board were killed.”
He added that the crash site has been cordoned off, and an investigation is being carried out, including by search and rescue specialists.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the plane crashed while “65 captured Ukrainian army servicemen were being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange as well as six crew members and three escorts.” The Kremlin said it would “look into” the reported crash.
SHOCKED RESIDENTS
Video footage seen by Worthy News showed a massive fireball over the area as shocked residents reacted to the horrific scene.
The crash comes while Russian-Ukrainian clashes continue in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two, which killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people.
Wednesday’s incident was due to further complicate efforts to come to agreements between Moscow and Kyiv on how to end an armed conflict that on the ground often resembles tactics of the First World War.
With investigations ongoing, the usually well-informed Ukrainska Pravda outlet said it corrected its previous report that the downing of the Il-76 transport plane aircraft was Ukraine’s work.
It said it had wrongly cited Ukrainian military sources saying Kyiv “shot down” the plane as it carried S-300 missiles.
However, questions remained over what caused the deadly crash.
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