Aviation expert Romanenko on Il-76 crash in Russia: it looks like missile shot it down, but it could have been falsified

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"From the picture, it looks like the Il-76 was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, but we don't know what kind and where it was launched from, but not from Lyptsi, as the Russians say, because it's 100 kilometers away. If you take a closer area from Vovchansk, which is only 45 kilometers away, and if our military wanted to shoot down an enemy transport plane there, for example, they would have put it at a minimum distance. Near Vovchansk, they could have hidden another 30 kilometers deep into our territory. It looks like an airplane was shot down because the lower part of the plane is riddled, which is similar to damage from anti-aircraft missile elements. But if it was necessary to falsify it, it would be possible to shoot this part on the ground with several types of weapons, and it would look very similar to an anti-aircraft missile hit," the aviation expert commented.

Valeriy Romanenko noted that the crash site showed that the plane had crashed, which was filled with a large amount of fuel, so the fuel itself exploded and the plane was blown into small pieces. The Russians found the bodies of 6 crew members, but no other bodies were reported or shown.

What is known about the crash of the Russian military transport aircraft IL-76

On Wednesday, January 24, a Russian military transport plane IL-76 crashed in the Korocha district of Belgorod region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the plane was allegedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia has requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council because of the downing of the plane, which Moscow accused Ukraine of shooting down. France rejected the request. 

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces emphasized that the Defense Forces control the airspace and monitor missile launch sites and logistics, especially with the use of military transport aircraft, and will continue to take measures to destroy delivery vehicles.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed that a prisoner exchange was to take place on January 24. The Intelligence noted that it does not currently have reliable and comprehensive information about who was on board the plane and in what quantity. 

White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said that the United States could not confirm the presence of Ukrainian prisoners in the Russian IL-76. 

On January 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would insist on an international investigation into the downing of the IL-76 military transport plane in Russia.