Incident
A military transport aircraft departed Moscow-Chkalovsky Airport bound for Belgorod with 65 Ukrainian soldiers, three accompanying individuals, and six crew members. During the descent to Belgorod Airport, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent, rolled to the left, and crashed in a snow-covered field near Yablonovo, approximately 55 kilometers northeast of Belgorod Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact, killing all 74 people on board.
Occupants
The crew consisted of six members: pilot Stanislav Bezzubkin, copilot Alexey Vysokin, flight engineer Andrey Piluev, technician Sergey Zhitenev, and radio operator Igor Sablinsky. The 65 Ukrainian soldiers were being transferred to Belgorod as part of a prisoner exchange program.
Investigation
The exact circumstances of the accident remain unclear. Russian authorities have claimed that the aircraft was shot down by a Ukrainian missile, either in error or deliberately. No other official findings or evidence have been released.