No survivors on crashed Russia’s IL-76 military plane, says local official

An Il-76 military transport aircraft belonging to Russian armed forces crashed in Belgorod region bordering Ukraine on Wednesday. The development was confirmed by the state news agency RIA. A Telegram channel connected to Russian security services posted a short clip showing a huge plane crashing towards ground and exploding in a gigantic inferno. A local governor says that there are no survivors in the crash. There were 65 Ukranian Prisoners of War on the plane.

The Russian Ilyushin Il-76 is a well-known military transport plane specifically designed to airlift military equipment, troops, cargo and weapons.

The Belgorod region, situated along the Ukraine border, has faced repeated assaults from Ukraine in the past few months. This includes a missile strike in December that resulted in the loss of 25 lives.

General (retd) Andrei Kartapolov, who is also a member of Russian Duma, claimed that the military aircraft was shot down by three missiles. He also claimed that these missiles are similar types that the Western nations have supplied to Ukraine. Reuters said that Kartapolov, however, did not gave the source of his claim. The retired general further claimed that the probes will reveal if the missiles were IRIS-Ts or Patriots.