2024 Korochansky Ilyushin Il-76 crash

On 24 January 2024, at around 11:15 MSK, a Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane crashed near the Ukrainian border in Russia's Korochansky district in Belgorod Oblast, killing everyone on board. Russia stated that the plane was shot down by Ukraine while it was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) captured during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as six crew members and three guards, and that the prisoners of war were to be exchanged in a swap. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not directly take responsibility for shooting down the airplane, but stated that it was a legitimate military target and that it was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles for bombing Kharkiv Oblast.

Some French and US officials said that the downing of the aircraft was caused by a Patriot missile fired by the Ukrainian army.

Background

Ukraine's Coordination HQ on the Treatment of POWs estimates that more than 8,000 Ukrainian civilians and military personnel are being held prisoner by Russia since the start of its invasion in 2022, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for. Prior to the crash, on 3 January, Ukraine returned 248 POWs to Russia in exchange for 230 of its citizens in the largest such prisoner exchange of the conflict, following mediation by the United Arab Emirates.

Belgorod Oblast, where the crash happened, has been the scene of spillovers and cross-border fighting with Ukraine, with an airstrike in Belgorod city on 30 December 2023 killing 25 people and injuring more than 100 others.

Crash

The crash occurred in a field about 5–6 km from Yablonovo, Belgorod Oblast, according to the village's rector. According to Viktor Bondarev, former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, an external impact was reported by the crew before the crash. The Moscow Times, citing analysis of videos of the crash on social media, reported that the military plane was flying away from the border with Ukraine when it crashed.

At 10:35 MSK the governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that the air defense system of the Belgorod Oblast shot down an aviation-type UAV with a fixed-wing over the village of Blizhne, 75 km southwest of Yablonovo. At 11:12 MSK, he announced that a "missile alert" had been activated in the region and urged residents to take shelter. At 11:43 MSK he reported that the signal had been cancelled. The first media reports about the crash appeared at 11:48.