On January 24, a Russian military transport aircraft crashed in Russia near the Ukrainian border. The circumstances surrounding the crash are currently unclear since Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of downing the aircraft. 

Possible Causes of the Crash

The Russian military claims that the aircraft involved in the crash was an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft carrying 74 passengers onboard including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three other passengers. The crash occurred in Russia's Belgorod region, near the village of Yablonovo, which is 29 miles (47 kilometers) from the Russia-Ukraine border. The crash occurred at approximately 11:15 a.m. local time.

The aircraft was flying between the Chkalovsky air field in the Moscow region of Russia and an airport near the Russian city of Belgorod, with the aforementioned prisoner exchange scheduled to take place 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of Yablonovo and the aircraft's crash site. 

On January 24, a Russian military transport aircraft crashed in Russia near the Ukrainian border. The circumstances surrounding the crash are currently unclear since Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of downing the plane. 

The Russian military claims that the aircraft involved in the crash was an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft carrying 74 passengers onboard, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew, and three other passengers. The crash occurred in Russia's Belgorod region, near the village of Yablonovo, 29 miles (47 kilometers) from the Russia-Ukraine border. The crash happened at approximately 11:15 a.m. local time. 

The aircraft was flying between the Chkalovsky airfield in the Moscow region of Russia and an airport near the Russian city of Belgorod, with the prisoner exchange scheduled to take place 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of Yablonovo and the aircraft's crash site. 

An official statement released by the Russian military reveals that prisoners of war onboard the crashed aircraft were "...being flown to the region for a prisoner swap." The military later added, "Russian radar registered the launch of two missiles from Ukraine's Kharkiv region that borders the Belgorod region." 

Andrii Yusov, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson, has confirmed to AP News and local media that a Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap was scheduled for January 24 but was canceled.

The crash site is just 85 miles (130 kilometers) from the Kolotilovka border crossing, where the canceled prisoner swap was scheduled to occur. Ukraine has claimed that the crashed Il-76 aircraft was carrying weapons and ammunition for Russia's S-300 missile (launching) trucks on the front lines in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said on a call with Russian media that he cannot comment on the crash due to a lack of information. AP News said, "The Russian Defense Ministry said a special military commission was headed to the crash site." 

Around 40 minutes before the crash of the Il-76 was announced, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, took to Telegram to write that a Ukrainian drone was shot down over the village of Blizhnee, 37 miles (60 kilometers) away from Yablonovo. At 11:12 local time, an "air attack alert" was issued, advising people to take shelter. 

Usage of Drones in the Russia-Ukraine War

The crash of the Ilyushin Il-76 comes just eight days after Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot down two Russian warplanes, an A-50 and an Il-22. Over the past few months, the Russia-Ukraine war has been entering a new phase; with Russian and Ukrainian forces in stalemate, the war has largely moved to the air, with Russia focusing primarily on artillery, missile strikes, and bombing as it has been.

Since the onset of the war, Russia's Air Force has maintained near-total air superiority over Ukraine's old, Soviet-era Air Force. However, Ukrainian soldiers and normal citizens alike have been fighting their war on a new front with drones. The Ukrainian military and ordinary citizens have been utilizing military and commercial drones (although re-engineering them) as well as designing new drones with the supplies they have to fight Russia. 

Ukrainian soldiers convert drones into weapons by strapping a bomb to the bottom of the drone and flying it into the target obstacle. Drones are difficult to spot by air defenses due to their small size. The Ukrainian military has also recently been utilizing commercial drones, such as the DJI Mini series, to spy on their enemy, as commercial drones are relatively cheap and difficult to intercept by Russian defenses due to their small size.