White House seeks more information on Russian Il-76 aircraft crash

White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby. Photo: Getty Images

The White House does not yet have enough information to determine what happened to the Il-76 plane that crashed in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast on 24 January.

Source: White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby at a briefing

Quote: “We just don’t have enough information to comment on this plane crash. You know, the Ukrainians are claiming one thing. The Russians are claiming another. And we just don’t know enough to comment on it.”

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Details: According to Kirby, the White House is doing everything necessary to get more information about the Il-76 incident.

The US State Department called on both Russia and Ukraine to “conduct their own relevant investigations and establish the facts”.

Background:

• On the afternoon of 24 January, an Il-76 military aircraft crashed in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. Ukrainska Pravda’s sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
• Following the crash of the Russian Il-76, a number of Russian media outlets cited Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defence. He claimed that the plane contained dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been taken for exchange, and Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that he was looking into the situation.
• Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence confirmed that an exchange of prisoners was planned for 24 January but it was not taking place.

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