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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Moment Russian military plane 'carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs' crashes |
| 2024-01-24 |
| [Mail link along with NYP Story] A Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane crashed near the Ukrainian border on Wednesday, and state news agency RIA quoted the defense ministry as saying it was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war to be exchanged for Russian captives. The plane was carrying 74 people, including six crew and three guards when it crashed, RIA cited the defense ministry as saying. There was no immediate information on the cause. Andrei Kartapolov, a lawmaker in Russia’s parliament and a retired general, said during a parliamentary session that the plane had been shot down by three missiles. He did not say what the source of his information was. Reuters could not immediately verify details of who was on board, but Russia and Ukraine regularly swap prisoners of war. Ukraine’s defense ministry and air force did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Radio reports Ukes say it was transporting weapons, not POWs |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #11 Ukraine's General Staff issues statement regarding Il-76 crash |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-01-24 22:46 |
| #10 So the breathless story at ZH that the Ukes shot it down is just so much more bullgarb? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-01-24 19:40 |
| #9 Radio reports Ukes say it was transporting weapons, not POWs I can't believe a word out of the Ukrainians. A flying Lusitania. Got it. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2024-01-24 19:29 |
| #8 Also hearing that the plane's flight might have originated in Iran that morning. So, possibly not prisoners on board. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2024-01-24 19:26 |
| #7 It wasn't a Boeing so prisoners couldn't fall out of a window. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2024-01-24 16:31 |
| #6 I wonder if the pilot was the same one that last flew the Wagner boss? /\0/\ |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2024-01-24 13:33 |
| #5 I would laugh my ass off if true Mike. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2024-01-24 13:27 |
| #4 I'm seeing word - nothing solid yet, thought - that it was Iranian IRGC drone operators and trainers. Mike |
| Posted by: MikeKozlowski 2024-01-24 13:11 |
| #3 Excellent analysis MR. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2024-01-24 11:28 |
| #2 Also appears that the aircraft was flying away from Belgorod towards the northeast when it decided to come down. Also odd that they'd transport prisoners in a very valuable strategic heavy airlift vehicle. Typically this would be by bus or train, even from very remote areas. The prisoner transfer was supposedly located roughly 100km to the west of Belgorod. Also, by releasing names within 30 minutes of the crash (a new record for the Russian MOD in information dissemination), it allows for them to exonerate themselves for military prisoners tortured and killed while in their custody. Nazis tried the same during the early WWII years. Also, no media or independent photos were permitted at the crash site and the area was locked down by the military. If the plane did carry prisoners, they'd want the 'evidence' shown on the front page of every media outlet in the world. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2024-01-24 11:25 |
| #1 17 of the "POWs" were transferred last year to Ukraine so the list is suspect. Ukraine has confirmed it shot the plane down as it had "ammunition". Still a bit of a muddled mess. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2024-01-24 10:21 |