DISINFO: Kyiv knew the Il-76 plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs but they shot it down anyway
SUMMARY
The Russian Il-76 military plane, carrying 65 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was shot down in the Russian province of Belgorod by Ukrainians using French or US air defence systems.
The General Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces knew that Russia would bring 65 servicemen there and knowing this, they attacked the plane.
RESPONSE
The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative concerning Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The claim is made without evidence. As of 29 January 2024, the investigation into the causes of the crash was ongoing. What is known is that the aircraft crashed northeast of Belgorod city, apparently killing everyone on board. It remains unknown how many passengers it was carrying and how many of them were Ukrainian POWs, if any. The investigation into the causes of the crash is also under way.
The Russian Ministry of Defence quickly blamed Ukraine for the downing of the plane, claiming that Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board.
The Kremlin ecosystem has tried to spin the downing in 2014 of the Malyasian civil airliner MH17 in several ways - see our overview here.
See related cases claiming that The British are behind the IL-76 plane crash aiming to kill Russia’s top negotiators, that Kyiv downed Russian Il-76 knowing it carried Ukrainian POWs and that The West will lie about the crash of IL-76, just as it lies about flight MH17.