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Videograb shows an explosion following the plane crash in the southern Belgorod region.
CNN
—
A Russian military plane carrying 74 people has crashed in the Belgorod border region, officials said according to media reports.
Russian news agencies citing the Defense Ministry said 65 Ukrainian servicemen were on board who were being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap. CNN cannot independently verify this claim.
Six crew members and three “accompanying personnel” were also on board the IL-76 cargo plane. No information on the cause of the crash has yet been released.
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The Kremlin declined to comment on the reported crash. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “This is quite new information, we will now deal with it. I can’t say anything yet.”
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said “an investigative team and Emergency Situations Ministry employees are currently working at the scene. I changed my work schedule and went to the area. All details later.”
Gladkov said the “incident” took place in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region, northeast of Belgorod City.
The border city of Belgorod was the site of one of the deadliest Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil late last year. At least 24 people, including three children, were killed and 108 others wounded in the attacks, which sparked retaliatory Russian strikes on the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
The plane crash comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine is set to enter its third year, with little battlefield progress made by either side in recent months. Western intelligence assessments warn that battlefield movement could further stagnate this year.
Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged prisoners of war throughout the conflict. The largest swap came earlier in January, when the two sides each exchanged over 200 prisoners.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
