2y ago

Russian plane carrying 65 Ukrainian PoWs has crashed, Moscow says

www.theguardian.com

Ministry says aircraft that went down in border region of Belgorod was carrying prisoners who were to be swapped

A Russian military transport plane has crashed in the border region of Belgorod, according to Russia’s defence ministry.

The ministry said the aircraft was carrying 65 Ukrainian PoWs who were to be swapped. The ministry added that onboard the Ilyushin Il-76 were also six crew and three other people.

The Belgorod regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said all 74 people onboard had died.

20 comments

country known for firing missiles at non-combatant and commercial planes has a plane full of political power suddenly crash. a mystery for sure.
- they will not destroy their plane and crew just to kill bunch of POWs
  
  Why not? They've done it before, both accidentally and on purpose. https://www.newsweek.com/russia-shoots-down-own-jet-second-time-su-35-1832781
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Wagner_Group_plane_crash
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17
  https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-defence-minister-wallace-russian-aircraft-fired-missile-near-british-plane-2022-10-20/
  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66599733
  
  They were supposedly shooting hypersonic* missiles against civilian infrastructure and sending tanks with not enough fuel to get to Kiev, with the objective to get to Kiev.
  They just don't care
  
  you dropped this:
  /s
Currently it seems like there were no POWs onboard and this was a false claim by Russia. The story is still developing though, no confirmation either way.
- Wait, I've seen this episode of Deep Space Nine
Does anyone transport POWs by plane? Isn't it too dangerous and doesn't usually require the speed air provides? They mentioned 74 people total and say 65 were POWs. Then it leaves 9 people of personel including a crew of 5 (based on wikipedia), so did it have just 4 guards? I'm not well versed in math or military logistics, but it sounds sketchy. Maybe POWs here are mentioned to make other side worried (for if they downed it, per the OP's article) and cover it with a tint of conspiracy, while it was e.g. military cargo or personel? Deflecting the argument is pretty much what enemies do.
I'd wait before more details show up, like satelite imagery of a crash site before making conclusions. For now this potato is just too hot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-76#Specifications_(Il-76TD)
- There are a lot of issues with that story. Nobody transports 65 prisoners with only three guards. According to eye witnesses, the plane flew in the opposite direction of the 'official flight plan', i.e.they flew north, away from the front. The place where it was shot down is out of reach for nearly all Ukranian anti-aircraft systems. There are discrepancies with the list of POW passengers. There are more problems according to TV news.
  
  Sounds very confusing. That's what I meant by a hot potato. I've read many stories and there're too many gossips now. I'd better wait until tomorrow.
Did it fall out of a window first?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Russian military transport plane has crashed in the border region of Belgorod, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
The Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper, citing sources, initially said Kyiv’s armed forces shot down the plane but later withdrew the report.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show the moment a large aircraft crashed and exploded in a vast fireball.
Andrei Kartapolov, a senior lawmaker in Russia’s parliament and a retired general, said during a parliamentary session that the plane had been shot down by three missiles.
This month, the two countries announced the largest exchange of prisoners since the start of the war, involving the return of more than 200 soldiers from each side in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
It has come under extensive shelling and drone attacks for months including a missile strike on the region’s capital in December that killed 25 people.
The original article contains 344 words, the summary contains 147 words. Saved 57%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Playing the Hamas game, I see.

20 comments