IL-76 crash one year later: Human rights activists report second plane with prisoners over Belgorod

Alongside the russian IL-76 military transport plane that may have been carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, human rights activists suggest that a second aircraft was likely carrying prisoners at the same time.

This revelation was shared by Tetiana Katrychenko, Executive Director of the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), during the presentation of an investigation at Media Center Ukraine.

“We also uncovered evidence that at that same moment, at least one more aircraft was in the skies over the Belgorod Oblast, or approaching it, which was also transporting prisoners of war,” Katrychenko stated.

She recalled that, on the eve of the crash, the russian side announced plans for a prisoner swap involving approximately 200 individuals.

“If we calculate the number of people on one plane, another plane, and potentially others still en route, we find that the figure aligns with the 200 prisoners of war russia claimed were part of the exchange. This includes prisoners we identified who were removed from their cells in preparation for the exchange but were ultimately not placed on the plane,” she explained.

To recap, on January 24, 2024, an IL-76 military transport aircraft crashed in russia’s Belgorod region. According to russian authorities, the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war slated for swap. moscow accused Ukraine of being responsible for the plane’s downing.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news