An Il-76 military plane crashed in the Belgorod region, photos from the scene raised questions about what was wrong. Photos and videos

On January 24, an Il-76 military plane crashed in Russia: it happened in the Belgorod region. According to Russia, there were more than 60 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.

This was reported by local public and Russian media. Instead, Ukrainian experts claim that photos from the crash site refute the Russian fake news and can serve as evidence that the IL-76 was not carrying prisoners, but missiles for the S-300.

"An IL-76 military plane went down in the Belgorod region. This was reported by our source. Preliminarily, the incident occurred in Korochany district," one of the Russian propagandists' messages reads.

Initially, Russian media reported that there were 63 people on board. According to preliminary data, all of them died.

Subsequently, the propagandists corrected the data on the number of people on board: according to the new information, there were 75 people on the plane, including five crew members.

According to the Russian Cheka-OGPU channel, the crew allegedly managed to report significant damage before the crash.

The plane crashed in the village of Yablonovo, Korocha district: the footage of the crash shows a church - the Church of St. Dmitry of Thessaloniki in this village.

The crash site of the IL-76 near Belgorod has been surrounded by Russian soldiers. Eyewitnesses claim that the wreckage of the plane was scattered for several kilometers.

According to the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, an "accident" occurred in the region that required the presence of both emergency services and local officials.

"The incident happened in Korochany district. An investigative team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are now working at the scene. I changed my work schedule and went to the district. All the details later," Gladkov wrote.

It is interesting that shortly before the first reports of the downing of the military transporter appeared, the same Gladkov reported a "missile threat" in the Belgorod region. It disappeared almost simultaneously with the occupiers' plane.

Both the video of the crash and the photos taken by eyewitnesses show a possible trace of an anti-aircraft missile.

Ukrainian monitoring channels deny both the version about dozens of people on board and the fake news about the plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners, first spread by Russian propagandists and then by the Russian Defense Ministry.

"The information about 63 people is a Russian fake, followed by an IPSO about alleged Ukrainian prisoners on board. The IL-76 was carrying missiles for the S-300 and was shot down by a missile," the Monitor channel said.

Even the collaborator and militant Yegor Guzenko refutes the possibility of transporting captured Ukrainian soldiers by plane.

"So, dear 'experts', I'll tell you something now. For example, the Federal Penitentiary Service transports prisoners around our country by train and special vehicles (autocars), because in case of an elementary riot, this can be prevented. And on an airplane? What if the armed forces hijack it and send it into a skyscraper, for example? Scary options. I haven't heard of prisoners being transported by airplanes yet either, maybe some know-how, maybe I'm just not aware. But I would not rush to judgment," the collaborator wrote.

The original source of the fake news, a Russian public service specializing in military aviation, has deleted the report about the prisoners on board.

And other Russian publics, which are now dutifully reposting the Russian Defense Ministry's fake news about captured Ukrainian soldiers on board the downed IL-76, previously refuted it and emphasized that the plane "with prisoners" was returning from Egypt before being shot down.

Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko drew attention to the fact that the first photos from the crash site show no trace of the bodies of the dozens of people who were allegedly on board.

"It is noteworthy that there are no signs of scattered bodies on the field. Let me remind you that immediately after the crash of the IL-76, the Russian Defense Ministry launched a fake that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange, although prisoners are not transported by air! Moreover, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, there were only 3 (!!!) escorts for 65 prisoners! Together with the crew, there were 74 people on board, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, but not a single body on the field," Kovalenko said.

Based on this fact, the expert concludes that there were no other people on board except for the six crew members in the cockpit.

Kovalenko himself is inclined to believe that the downed IL-76 was carrying anti-aircraft guided missiles for the S-300, which Russia is using to fire at Kharkiv from the territory of the Belgorod region. This was reported by a number of Ukrainian sources.

"This version is confirmed by the fact that nothing remained of the plane after the crash, and parts of its fuselage were scattered across the field, meaning that after the crash and impact with the ground, there was also a powerful detonation of the munition," the expert emphasized.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated that the Russians' information that there were allegedly Ukrainian prisoners on board is being collected and analyzed. Until official statements or comments are made public, Ukrainians are asked not to disseminate unverified information.

As a reminder, on January 21, a private jet en route to Moscow crashed in Afghanistan. Four crew members and a couple of Russian businessmen were on board.

The crew members were later found injured but alive, while the Russian couple died.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!