DISINFO: Kyiv downed Russian Il-76 knowing it carried Ukrainian POWs
SUMMARY
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency shot down a Russian military Il-76 transport aircraft over Belgorod Oblast, knowing full well it was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs en route to a previously agreed upon location where a prisoner swap was to take place.
RESPONSE
The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative concerning Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The claim is made without evidence. As of 29 January 2024, the investigation into the causes of the crash was ongoing. What is known is that the aircraft crashed northeast of Belgorod city, apparently killing everyone on board. It remains unknown how many passengers it was carrying and how many of them were Ukrainian POWs, if any. The investigation into the causes of the crash is also under way.
The Russian Ministry of Defence quickly blamed Ukraine for the downing of the plane, claiming that Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board.
See a similar case The Kakhovka dam attack is a deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side. The incident is spun by the Kremlin ecosystem in a fashion resembling the downing of the Malaysian civilian airliner MH17 in 2014 - see our account here.