Russia says 74 killed on military plane that crashed near Ukrainian border
By Andrew Carey, Radina Gigova, Katharina Krebs, Anna Chernova, Olga Voitovych and Sophie Tanno, CNN
Updated: 9:22 AM EST, Wed January 24, 2024
Source: CNN
All 74 people, including dozens of Ukrainian servicemen, on board a Russian military plane were killed Wednesday when it crashed in the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, Russian officials said, as speculation grew over the cause of the incident.
The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for the downing of the Ilyushin-76 cargo plane inside Russian airspace, 5 to 6 kilometers (about 3 to 3.7 miles) from the village of Yablonovo in the Korocha district. It said Kyiv had used an anti-aircraft missile system to target the aircraft and called it an act of terrorism.
“The plane was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the area of Liptsy, Kharkiv region, using an anti-aircraft missile system,” the ministry said in a statement. “The radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles.”
Kyiv has yet to comment on Moscow’s claim. Ukrainian sources meanwhile, asserted the plane was carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system. CNN cannot independently verify either claim.
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