First satellite images of Russian Il-76 aircraft crash site released

Satellite images taken by Planet Labs on 31 January have captured the trail left by the Il-76 aircraft during the crash, stretching for approximately 500 metres.

Source: Skhemy, an investigative reporting project of Radio Liberty

Details: The aircraft crashed near the village of Yablonovo in Belgorod Oblast of Russia on 24 January 2024. The Russian Defence Ministry claims that the aircraft carried 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, scheduled for exchange, along with a crew of six and three escorts. Russia has accused Ukraine of shooting down the aircraft with an American Patriot missile, but has provided no evidence to support this claim.

Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence confirmed that a military prisoner exchange was planned for 24 January but did not occur. They emphasised that the intelligence lacks information on whether Ukrainian prisoners were on board.

The exchange did eventually occur on 31 January. However, Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda that the prisoners returned by the Russian Federation did not include those whose exchange was disrupted due to the Il-76 crash. The Ukrainian intelligence service also emphasises that Russia has yet to provide evidence that Ukrainian prisoners were on board the Il-76.

Background: Journalists from the Skhemy project managed to establish the nicknames of the crew members of the Russian Il-76 aircraft, the deaths of three of whom have been confirmed by their relatives.

Previously:

• A Russian Il-76 aircraft crashed in the Korocha district of Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Sources in the General Staff stated the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
• Following the downing of the Il-76, a number of Russian media outlets cited Andrei Kartapolov, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defence. He claimed that the plane contained dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transported for a prisoner swap. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that he was looking into the situation.
• Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence commented that a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine had been due to take place on Wednesday, 24 January.
• In response to the news of the downing of an Il-76 aircraft in Russia, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a statement saying that it would "continue to destroy means of delivery and control the airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, including on the Belgorod-Kharkiv front".
• Later, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence reported that the prisoner exchange scheduled for 24 January did not take place. It has no information on whether there were Ukrainian prisoners on board the aircraft.
• Russia has not provided the UN Security Council with evidence that Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the Il-76 aircraft, and rejects the demand for an international commission to investigate the incident that occured near Belgorod on 24 January. 

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