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The Russia-Ukraine war · The land fronts

Russian Il-76 military transport crashes in Belgorod region; Russia says 65 Ukrainian POWs were aboard

Disputedon credible origins that conflict: 1 distinct origin, 1 tied to no party.

A Russian Il-76 military transport plane crashed near Yablonovo in Belgorod region, and everyone aboard was reported killed. Russia's defence ministry said it carried 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war for an exchange, six crew and three escorts, and that Ukraine shot it down with two missiles from Kharkiv region; President Putin later said a US-supplied Patriot system was used. Ukrainian officials did not confirm that prisoners were aboard: President Zelensky demanded an international investigation, ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said crash-site images did not show many passengers, and security council secretary Oleksii Danilov later said there were no POWs on the plane. At the UN Security Council on 25 January, Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said the UN could not verify the reports or the circumstances of the crash.

When
24 January 2024
Where
Belgorod oblast, Russia (military events are placed no finer than town or district, except known fixed sites)
What
other · military
Acting party
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Against
Ministry of Defence of Russia
Attribution
Attribution contested. Russia said Ukraine shot the plane down; Ukraine did not confirm or deny firing and disputed that POWs were aboard; the UN said it could not verify.
In the record
Published 2026-10-27 21:03 UTC · revision 1 · monthly summary

Sources

  1. Origin of the claim The Moscow Times Media · Unaffiliated origin: Russian defence ministry statement, 24 Jan · published 2024-01-24 00:00 UTC
  2. Contradicts Kyiv Independent Media · Unaffiliated origin: President Zelensky nightly address, 24 Jan · published 2024-01-25 00:00 UTC
  3. Evidence Kyiv Independent Media · Unaffiliated origin: UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo briefing to the Security Council, 25 Jan · published 2024-01-26 00:00 UTC
  4. Contradicts Kyiv Independent Media · Unaffiliated origin: NSDC secretary Oleksii Danilov interview with Babel, 9 Feb · published 2024-02-09 00:00 UTC
  5. Origin of the claim The Moscow Times Media · Unaffiliated origin: President Putin remarks, 31 Jan · published 2024-01-31 00:00 UTC

History

WhenFieldFromToWhy
2026-10-27 21:03 UTCstatusnulldisputedP1 monthly summary: researched from cited sources and graded by the one rule

Cite or reuse

The War Record, "Russian Il-76 military transport crashes in Belgorod region; Russia says 65 Ukrainian POWs were aboard", ev-20261027-fx75, revision 1, https://thewarrecord.com/events/ev-20261027-fx75/

This month's events as JSON (id ev-20261027-fx75) · CC BY 4.0