Russian military plane crashes near Ukraine border

Ukraine’s military command has issued a carefully worded statement following the crash of a Russian military plane near the Ukrainian border, in which the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russian cargo weapons had been bringing weapons closer to the border recently.

In the statement, Ukraine said recent attacks on Kharkiv, which is about 30 kilometers from Russia, were being facilitated by the cargo planes bringing more weapons.

But, the Ukrainian General Staff statement stopped short of addressing Russian claims the crashed plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war ahead of an exchange.??

If you’re just catching up now, here’s what to know:

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 24.

The White House is aware of claims a Russian military plane crashed in Belgorod region carrying Ukrainian servicemen ahead of a prisoner exchange but had no further information to offer on Wednesday.?

“No, we don’t,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby responded when asked if the United States had more info. “We’ve seen the reports but we’re not in a position to confirm them.”??

Kirby said the administration was “obviously doing the best we can to try to get more clarity and more information on it.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a press conference at the United Nations in New York on January 24.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukraine of targeting the plane that went down in the Belgorod region with a missile while addressing reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday.?

CNN is not able to independently verify Russia’s claims.?

Lavrov said he has also requested an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting at 3 p.m. ET today following the downing of the plane.

Ukraine’s military command says it regards Russian military aircraft approaching Belgorod as legitimate targets, but stopped short of acknowledging it fired at a Russian transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia.

In a carefully worded statement, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said recent attacks on the city of Kharkiv, which lies just 30 kilometers from Russia, are being facilitated by Russian cargo planes bringing weapons close to the border.

“The recorded intensity of the shelling is directly related to the increase in the number of military transport aircraft that have recently been heading to the Belgorod airfield,” the statement said.

“With this in mind, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy delivery means and control the airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, including on the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction.”

Tuesday morning saw one of the deadliest attacks on Kharkiv in weeks, with ten people killed in a missile attack on the city, according to emergency response officials.

The Ukrainian General Staff statement did not address Russian claims the crashed plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war ahead of an exchange.??

Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov talks to the media in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.

Air defense systems in the Belgorod region were active shortly before the crash of a Russian military transport plane Wednesday morning, according to information from the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

On his Telegram channel, Gladkov wrote that a drone had been shot down over the village of Blizhnee, which lies about 60 kilometers southwest of Yablanovo, where the plane crashed. The governor’s post was published at 10:35 a.m. local time, about 40 minutes before Russia’s Defense Ministry says the plane crashed.

In another post, published at 11:12 a.m. local time, Gladkov reported an air attack alert was active, warning people to take shelter.?About half an hour later, he said the alert was over.

The governor’s Telegram posts did not draw any connections between the air alert, the drone interception and the plane crash.

For months now, Belgorod has been targeted by Ukraine’s armed forces, mainly using drones, but also with other weapons types. Kyiv is yet to comment on Moscow’s claims Ukraine was responsible for the downing of the transport plane.

A screengrab taken from video posted to social media shows flames rising from the scene of a plane crash near Yablonovo, in Russia's Belgorod region, on Wednesday, January 24.

Russia’s defense ministry has blamed Ukraine for downing an?Ilyushin-76 transport plane in the Belgorod region on Wednesday, saying Kyiv used an anti-aircraft missile system to down the plane.?

Kyiv has so far made no comment on Moscow’s claims, which Russian officials have been reporting since shortly after news of the crash broke.

The latest statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry says, “Today, at 11:15 a.m., the Kyiv regime committed a terrorist act as a result of which a Russian military transport aircraft was shot down, flying along the route Chkalovsky-Belgorod airfield to transport Ukrainian military personnel for exchange.”

“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. “The radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles.”

CNN is not able to independently verify Russia’s claims.?

Russian media has reported that a military plane with 74 people on board has crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia, near the Ukrainian border. The region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said all those on board were killed.

But, there are conflicting reports about who or what was on board. Russian state media reported that 65 Ukrainian servicemen were on the plane, being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap.

Ukraine says the IL-76 that crashed in Belgorod was carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system, according to the official Ukrainian information service, quoting a source in the Ukrainian armed forces.

CNN has been unable to independently verify either claim. It has reached out to Ukraine for comment on allegations it shot down the plane.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what we know:

Ukraine says a prisoner of war exchange with Russia had been due to take place today (Wednesday).

“It is not happening at the moment,” Andriy Yusov, from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, told CNN.

Russia has said the crashed plane was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, but CNN has been unable to verify the claim.

Prisoner exchanges have taken place throughout the war, with the largest prisoner swap yet taking place in early January. More than 200 prisoners from each side were returned to their countries in February 2022.

The Ukrainian government agency that looks after prisoners of war says it is investigating claims a Russian military plane that crashed in Belgorod region was carrying Ukrainian servicemen ahead of a prisoner exchange.

A statement?provided no further details but did warn Russia was “actively conducting information special operations against Ukraine aimed at destabilizing Ukrainian society.”

Russian news agencies, quoting Russia’s Defense Ministry, say 65 Ukrainian servicemen who were being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap were on board the plane.

The official Ukrainian information service?says the IL-76 that crashed was carrying missiles for the Russian S-300 air defense system, citing an unnamed source in the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Russian IL-76 plane crashed near the village of Yablonovo in the Korocha District of Belgorod.?

Russia has claimed that the flight was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Ukraine says the plane was transporting missiles.

CNN has been unable to verify either claim, but has reached out to Ukrainian sources about Russia’s claims it was responsible for downing the plane.

The plane that crashed – an IL-76 – is a Soviet-era, long-range freighter plane that has been in service since 1975, according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.

It typically operates with a seven-person flight crew, and can carry around a 50-ton payload, according to the body.

They are not designed as passenger aircraft but can feature traditional, airline-style seats, according to the Air Charter Service, a company which rents out the plane.

Russia and Ukraine have offered contrasting initial statements on whether the plane that crashed was carrying cargo or passengers. Russian state media reported that 65 Ukrainian servicemen were on the plane, being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap. Conversely, Ukraine’s military said the plane was carrying air defense missiles.

In 2004, an IL-76 operated by Azerbaijan crashed in northwest China, killing all seven crew members.

All those on board a?Russian military plane that crashed on Wednesday are dead, Belgorod governor?Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post.?

“A transport airplane crashed in the Korochansky district. It went down in a field near a settlement. All those on board died,”?Gladkov?said.?

“Now the crash site is cordoned off. All operational services are on site, investigative measures are being carried out,” he said.?

“A commission is being sent to the site to establish the causes of the crash,” he added.

The IL-76 that crashed in Belgorod was carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system, the official Ukrainian information service says, quoting a source in the Ukrainian armed forces.

That assertion is at odds with Russian claims that 65 Ukrainian servicemen were on board, ahead of a prisoner exchange - first reported on Russian news agencies, and then repeated by the head of the Russian Parliament’s defense committee, Andrey Kartapolov.

Kartapolov said there was a second military plane, also an IL-76, carrying an additional 80 prisoners of war, which was diverted.

Kartapolov also said the “The Ukrainian leadership was well aware of the impending exchange and was informed of how the prisoners would be delivered. But the IL-76 plane was shot down by three missiles, either with anti-aircraft missile systems or Patriot, or with German-made IRIS.”

CNN cannot verify these claims. We have reached out to multiple sources in Ukraine’s government about Russia’s allegations that Ukraine was responsible for the downing of the plane but have not yet received any comment.

Traffic police officers block off a road near the crash site of the Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane, outside the village of Yablonovo in Russia's Belgorod region, on January 24.

The Il-76 Russian military plane crashed five to six kilometers (about 3 to 3.7 miles) away from the village of Yablonovo in the Korocha District of Russia’s borderline Belgorod Region, according to Russian state news agency TASS.?

“No damage was done to the village, as it [the plane] crashed in a field outside of the village,” a local cleric, Rev. Georgy, rector of the Dimitri Solunsky church in Yablonovo, told TASS.?

The cleric said the church building and the local school had not been affected by the crash, according to TASS.?

Belgorod is a region in south-west Russia, on Ukraine’s eastern border.

It borders the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, which has been the scene of intense fighting throughout the war.

In recent weeks, Belgorod has been the centre of Ukrainian strikes, with Russia evacuating citizens concerned about living in the region.

Firefighters work to extinguish burning cars following what Russian authorities say was a Ukrainian military strike in?Belgorod, Russia, on December 30.

The region of Belgorod has been increasingly drawn into Russia’s war on Ukraine, with an increasingly emboldened Kyiv launching cross-border strikes on its cities and towns in an effort to dent domestic support for Moscow’s invasion.

Earlier this month, Russia was forced to evacuate residents from the region after a series of retaliatory strikes from Ukraine.

At least 25 people died in late December in Ukrainian strikes on the region, which followed a major aerial bombardment from Moscow on Ukrainian cities.

“People realized there really is a war going on and it’s come now to Belgorod, maybe not for the first time but the most grave and frightening,” a Belgorod resident told Reuters in the wake of the December 30 strike.

Perhaps the most dramatic instance came in May 2023, when the Freedom of Russia Legion – a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals who are aligned with the Ukrainian army – mounted a?surprise attack on the region, temporarily?taking control of a border post and giving the world dramatic images of Russians taking up arms against the Kremlin.

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov is pictured in Moscow on January 11.

The Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, has said a Russian investigative team and emergency services personnel are at the scene of the plane crash.

“I changed my work schedule and went to the area. All details later,” Gladkov said.

Gladkov said the “incident” took place in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region, north-east of Belgorod City.?

A screen grab taken from a video posted to social media shows smoke and flames following the crash of a Russian plane near Belgorod, Russia, on January 24.

Sixty-five Ukrainian servicemen who were being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap were on board the plane that crashed in the region, Russian news agencies reported, quoting Russia’s Defense Ministry.

In addition, there were six crew members and three “accompanying personnel” on board the IL-76, reports said.

CNN has been unable to independently verify the claim.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the Russian plane crash in his regular call with journalists on Wednesday, but offered no details.

“This is quite new information, we will now deal with it. I can’t say?anything?yet,”?Peskov said, talking about the crash of the IL-76 in the Belgorod region of Russia.?

A Russian IL-76 military plane has crashed in the Belgorod region near Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, according to Russia’s RAI Novosti news agency.

The plane had 74 people on board, RIA said.

Follow us for live updates on this developing story.