A Russian IL-76 military transport aircraft crashed in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region, Russia.

Militarnyi reported on this with reference to the testimony of local residents.

The crash site was identified through the distinctive landmarks in the eyewitness video. The incident occurred near the village of Yablonovo, situated approximately 86 kilometers from the border of the Kharkiv region.

The information about the crash was indirectly confirmed by the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

“An emergency has occurred in the Korochansky district. An investigative team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are now working at the scene. I changed my work schedule and went to the district. All the details later,” Gladkov said in a statement.

The Russian news Telegram channel 112, citing its own sources, reports that there were about 70 people on board the military transport plane, all of whom died.

It is worth emphasizing that this information may turn out to be an element of the Russians’ information and psychological operation.

The Telegram channel also published the first photos of the plane’s wreckage.

The Ukrainian Telegram channel Monitor reported that the plane was transporting missiles for the S-300 system. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has not yet provided any official comment on the incident.

The reason for the crash of the military transport aircraft could be friendly fire, as a “missile alert” was issued in the area at the time and a UAV was reported to have been hit. The possibility of the IL-76 breaking down cannot be ruled out.

Russian aviation losses in January

On January 15, 2024, Militarnyi reported that Russia had lost an A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft in the skies over Ukraine. It was also reported significant damage to an Il-22 aircraft.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine officially confirmed the information about the downing of the aircraft by the Ukrainian Air Force.

On January 17, it was reported that a Russian Mi-8МТV-5 helicopter made an emergency landing on the М3 highway near the Sevsky district of the Bryansk region. Information on the helicopter’s emergency landing was confirmed by the local governor, Bogomaz. According to him, the helicopter hit power lines.