No survivors in crash of Russian plane carrying Ukrainian POWs
A military plane reportedly carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed in Russia's Belgorod region on January 24, killing everyone on board, RFE/RL said.
"A transport plane crashed in the Korochansky district. It fell in a field near a populated area. Everyone on board died," regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on Telegram.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said 65 "captured Ukrainian Army servicemen" were on board the plane and being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange. In addition, it said, six crew members and three people escorting the captives were on the flight, which crashed at around 11 a.m. local time.
Video on social media showed an aircraft, which appears to be a Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane, spiraling to the ground, followed by a loud bang and explosion that sent a ball of smoke and flames skyward.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the plane crash, saying he was still gathering information on the incident.