Russian Il-76 Military Cargo Plane Crashes in Ivanovo Region, MoD Says

11:46, 12 March 2024

Rasina Musallimova

Writer

On January 24, an Il-76 transport aircraft crashed in Russia's Belgorod region, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. Sixty-five Ukrainian PoWs, six crew members and three accompanying persons on board, died. Russia's Investigative Committee later determined that Ukraine used a US-made Patriot missile system to bring down the plane.

Sputnik

A Russian Il-76 military cargo plane crashed during take-off in the country's Ivanovo region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"According to a report from the site, the cause of the crash was an engine ignition during take-off. A commission of the Main Command of the Russian Aerospace Forces flew to the Ivanovo airfield to investigate further the causes of the crash," the ministry said.

The ministry noted that there were eight crew members and seven passengers on board.

Earlier, an Il-76 transport aircraft with 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange on board crashed in the Belgorod region. Following the crash, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, the plane was downed by Ukraine with a US-made Patriot missile system.

In late February, a source familiar with the matter told Sputnik that advisers from the United Kingdom were "responsible" for the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of war and crew members which were on board.