'Apparently, It Was Shot Down: Military Expert on Il-76 Crash in Belgorod
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Based on the videos shared online, there is a high possibility that Russia's Il-76 plane was shot down — there are traces in the sky, which usually indicate an explosion had occurred, Dmitriy Kornev, a military expert & the founder of the Military Russia portal, told Sputnik.
What could cause an explosion in the air?
a surface-to-air missile was launched;
an explosive device that was planted on the aircraft (sabotage);
a tech malfunction (unlikely, because if something had gone wrong with the engine, there would have been some kind of smoke trail coming from it).
The distance from Kharkov (Ukraine) to Belgorod (Russia) is 70kms. And the Ukrainian rushed to claim Kiev deliberately shot down the Russian plane using the S-300 complex.
#Russia's Il-76 plane carrying captured #Ukraine soldiers crashed in #Belgorod region: MoD
— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) January 24, 2024
Ukrainian media outlets claim Ukraine’s air defense forces shot down the aicraft: if confirmed, this would be another incidence of Ukraine killing its own troops in Russian captivity 👇 pic.twitter.com/FMSRHjhxfo
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have several other air defense systems that can shoot down an aircraft at a distance of 70kms:
Patriot,
Iris-T,
NASAMS.