Ukrainian intelligence said senior Russian officials planned to board the Il-76 that crashed in Belogorod province, but the FSB stopped them at the last minute.
Andrii Yusov, spokesman for the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), said on January 25 that a number of Russian political officials and senior commanders planned to board the Il-76 transport plane that crashed in the Belogorod region. However, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) "stopped them at the last minute" and asked them to use another means of transportation.
Mr Yusov said GUR received this information after the Il-76 crashed. "After the accident, the FSB and the Russian military did not allow rescuers to examine the site according to the procedure," Mr Yusov said. "The five bodies were transferred to the local morgue in the Belogorod region."
The scene of the crash of a Russian Il-76 plane in Belogorod province on January 24. Video : SRK
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on January 24 that an Il-76 with a crew of six, carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and three guards, was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses with a missile launched from Kharkiv province. Moscow said all on board were killed.
GUR has not confirmed whether there were any Ukrainian prisoners on board, nor has it commented on the cause of the Il-76 crash. However, before the crash, GUR announced that a prisoner exchange was scheduled to take place that same day.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian media initially reported that the Il-76 was shot down by the country's air defenses while carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system, but deleted the article shortly afterward. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of using the S-300 system to attack targets in the country.
On January 25, the Russian Investigative Committee (SKR) released a video of the Il-76 crash site, showing many bodies scattered across the field. However, Ukrainian officials said that "no bodies were seen at the scene in the panoramic footage" or "there was no sign that the plane was carrying a large number of people" as Russia claimed.
Location of Belogorod Oblast, Russia. Graphics: RYV
The Ilyushin Il-76 is the Soviet Union's first four-engine jet strategic transport aircraft, entering service in 1974 with a total of nearly 1,000 built since then.
The Il-76 is designed to transport oversized cargo, as well as provide emergency transport and humanitarian assistance around the world. It is capable of landing and taking off on a variety of runways, including hard ground and polar glaciers.
Each Il-76MD transport aircraft is 46.6 m long, has a wingspan of 50.5 m, is 14.7 m high, has an empty weight of 92.5 tons and a maximum payload of up to 48 tons. The aircraft reaches a maximum speed of 900 km/h, with a range of about 4,400 km with the largest cargo volume.
Nguyen Tien (According to KI, Reuters, AFP )
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