11:58 14.06.2014

Ukrainian prosecutors confirm death of 49 troops aboard plane shot down in Luhansk

2 min read
Ukrainian prosecutors confirm death of 49 troops aboard plane shot down in Luhansk

The Il-76 plane shot down near Luhansk was carrying forty troops and nine crewmembers. All of them were killed, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has reported on its website.

The prosecutors of the southern region of Ukraine in charge of the observance of laws in the military sphere has launched a pre-trial investigation based on evidence of a crime enshrined by Part 3 of Article 258 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (terrorist attack leading to people's death and infliction of considerable property damage), the report says.

The tragedy occurred around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, when a Ukrainian military-transport plane Il-76 was shot down with a surface-to-air missile system while landing at the Luhansk airport, the press service for the Prosecutor General's Office has reported.

Ukrainian parliamentarian Anatoliy Hrytsenko said on Facebook the troops were from two different brigades: "Terrorists shot down a heavy military-transport plane Il-76 of the Ukrainian Air Force with two surface-to-air missile systems when it was landing at the Luhansk airport. The plane was at an altitude of 700 meters when it was shot down. Forty-nine troops, including nine crewmembers of the Melitopol aviation transport brigade and forty paratroopers from the 25th Dnepropetrovsk air borne brigade, were killed."

Dmytro Tymchuk, the head of the group Information Resistance, said portable surface-to-air missile systems Igla could have been used in the attack.

The self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic have confirmed the reports saying that a Ukrainian military plane was shot down in the early hours of Saturday.

"The headquarters of the self-defense forces has confirmed that an Il-76 plane was shot down last night. The plane, which was carrying personnel, crashed on the territory of the airport," the press service for the Luhansk People's Republic told Interfax.

AD
AD
AD
AD
AD