A big Russian army transport aircraft crashed on Wednesday within the Belgorod area close to the border with Ukraine, state information businesses stated, citing an announcement by the Russian Protection Ministry.
The ministry stated that the aircraft carried 65 Ukrainian prisoners of conflict who have been being transferred to the area to be exchanged for Russian service personnel. The declare couldn’t be independently verified. The aircraft additionally carried six crew members and three different people, the ministry stated, in keeping with Tass, a Russian state information company.
The Protection Ministry didn’t say whether or not there have been any survivors.
The Ukrainian army intelligence company stated that it couldn’t instantly remark. The Ukrainian Protection Ministry stated that it was trying into the state of affairs and declined to remark, in keeping with Suspilne, a Ukrainian information web site. A Ukrainian Air Drive consultant stated that the service couldn’t but remark.
Baza, a Russian telegram channel, posted what it stated was a video of the crash, displaying a big plane speeding towards the bottom with a subsequent explosion producing a large fireball.
The aircraft, an Il-76, was designed many years in the past within the Soviet Union to carry out army duties akin to airlifting troops, cargo and weapons.
Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, declined to touch upon the stories, telling journalists that the knowledge was nonetheless “too contemporary.” The Russian Air Drive command dispatched a gaggle to the scene of the crash to attempt to decide the trigger, in keeping with the Protection Ministry assertion.
The Belgorod area of Russia has a protracted border with Ukraine. Over the previous few weeks, it has been the scene of frequent Ukrainian assaults, together with a missile bombardment in December.
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting.
