The Russian Ministry of Defense officially confirmed information about the crash of an Il-76 military aircraft in the Belgorod region.
The press service of the military department reported that on board the crashed liner there were 65 captured military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as six crew members and three accompanying persons. The Ministry of Defense clarified that Ukrainian military personnel were transported to the Belgorod region for exchange.
A VKS commission was sent to the crash site to establish the causes of the incident.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the information about the plane crash near Belgorod. “Now we’ll deal with her. I can’t say anything yet,” said a Kremlin official.
Earlier it was reported that the plane crash occurred in the Korochansky district. According to preliminary data from 112, all 74 people died. Rescuers and investigators are already working at the scene of the incident. The moment the Il-76 plane crashed near Belgorod was filmed.
Let us recall that in October, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, reported that about 500 Russian soldiers were being held captive in Ukraine. At the same time, the number of Ukrainian prisoners of war is estimated at 20–25 thousand.
Prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine took place regularly throughout 2022, but they stopped in the second half of 2023. According to the Ukrainian side, a total of 48 exchanges have taken place since the beginning of the special operation.
Source: Rosbalt
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