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2014 Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 shootdown

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article 2014 Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 shootdown, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 202511 sources
Ukrainian Air Force
Company typeMilitary
IndustryDefense, Aviation
Headquarters
Ukraine
Area served
Ukraine
Key people
Petro Poroshenko (President of Ukraine at time), Mykhaylo Koval (Acting Defense Minister at time)
ProductsMilitary air transport
OwnerGovernment of Ukraine


Template:Pp-extended Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence Template:Campaignbox 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine

On 14 June 2014, an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft belonging to the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force was downed by separatist forces aligned with the Russia-backed Luhansk People's Republic during its final approach to Luhansk International Airport amid the early stages of the Donbas conflict. The plane was transporting soldiers and equipment from an undisclosed location. Tragically, all 49 individuals aboard lost their lives.

Attack

Memorial dedicated to the paratroopers of the 25th Airborne Brigade who perished in the shootdown, located in Kryvyi Rih

The flight carried a crew of nine and 40 military personnel along with their equipment. While preparing to land at Luhansk International Airport, it came under hostile fire.[1] According to statements from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the aircraft was targeted using a heavy machine gun.[2] The Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office later reported that man-portable air-defense systems were responsible for bringing down the plane.[3] The crash occurred at approximately 00:51 local time (21:51 UTC on 13 June) near the village of Krasne;[4] all onboard perished.[1][2][5] The Ukrainian Defence Ministry attributed responsibility for the crash to pro-Russian separatist militants.[1] Reports indicated that among those killed were 40 paratroopers from the 25th Separate Dnipropetrovsk Airborne Brigade along with their flight crew.[6]

A Kyiv-based defense analyst noted that two spent launch tubes for 9K38 Igla surface-to-air missiles (Surface-to-air missile) were discovered near Luhansk airport. Vladimir Inogorodsky, spokesperson for the Donetsk People's Republic, acknowledged that Igla missiles had been deployed in this attack. Separatist groups had previously declared their intent to block further flights into Luhansk airport one week before this incident.[7]

This event represented the most severe single loss endured by Ukrainian forces since the onset of the pro-Russian conflict in February 2014.[5] It ranks as the fourth deadliest incident involving an Il-76 aircraft and stands as the tenth most fatal aviation disaster within Ukraine.[8]

On 17 June, a Russian news source reported that Valeriy Bolotov, then leader of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), stated investigators from LPR found no weapons or soldier remains at the crash location. Bolotov suggested that the plane might have been empty and possibly intended for transporting fallen soldiers’ bodies while reaffirming separatist responsibility for shooting down the aircraft.[9]

On 7 October 2017, Ukraine’s Security Service announced it had uncovered evidence linking the Russian private military company Wagner Group to the destruction of the Il-76.[10]

Five years after the tragedy, on its anniversary date of 14 June 2019, investigators from Ukraine’s Security Service revealed direct involvement by Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Yevgeny Nikiforov, who allegedly instructed Dmitry Utkin of Wagner Group to carry out the attack on the aircraft.[11]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Ilyushin Il-76MD operated by the Ukrainian Air Force, bearing the registration number 76777 and manufacturer's serial number 0083482490. This model first took to the skies in 1988.

Initially, the aircraft flew under Aeroflot with the registration CCCP-76777. It later served various operators, including the Ukrainian Air Force, Azov-Azia Aircompany, and Avilond TAC, registered as UR-76777. Subsequently, it was operated by Payam Air under EP-TPY. Although there was a planned purchase by ATI Aircompany, this transaction did not materialize, leading to the aircraft’s return to Ukrainian Air Force service.

Reactions

Following the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued a warning of an "appropriate response" against separatist forces and proclaimed 15 June as a national day of mourning. During an urgent televised meeting, Poroshenko criticized the head of Ukraine’s SBU for lapses in safeguarding the aircraft. He demanded a thorough investigation into the causes of the failure and suggested that personnel changes might be necessary. In line with this, acting Defense Minister Mykhaylo Koval announced that the chief of staff of the Ukrainian military would be temporarily relieved of duties while the investigation proceeded.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk expressed condolences by stating, "They lost their lives defending men and women, children and elderly." He further vowed, "We will honor these heroes first by eliminating those responsible for their deaths and then by cleansing our land from evil."

In March 2017, Major General Viktor Nazarov was sentenced to seven years in prison by a Ukrainian court. The ruling indicated that Nazarov had received intelligence suggesting that the plane might have been targeted using MANPADS weaponry. However, on 21 May 2021, the Criminal Court of Cassation of Ukraine’s Supreme Court overturned this verdict and acquitted Nazarov.

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, amid the Battle of Vasylkiv, Lieutenant General Valerii Zaluzhnyi and others referenced the 2014 downing of the Ukrainian Il-76 on social media after reports emerged that two Russian Il-76 transport planes were shot down on 26 February 2022. They described this event as "revenge" for the loss of all personnel aboard the Ukrainian Il-76 in 2014.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named BBC2784313
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ukrainian Aircraft 'Shot Down By Separatists'". Sky News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Ukrainian authorities confirm 49 dead as plane shot down in Lugansk". Information Telegraph Agency of Russia. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Goodhind, William (2023), Contested Ground, Report 6: Site of Ukrainian Air Force Il-76 shootdown, Krasne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine, 30 June 2014, doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.18910.20807/1, archived from the original on 14 June 2024, retrieved 26 August 2023
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Ukraine rebels shoot down military plane, spokesman says 49 dead". Reuters. 14 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Ensor, Josie (14 June 2014). "Ukraine crisis: rebels shoot down military plane carrying 49". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Luhn, Alec (14 June 2014), "Bloodiest day in Ukraine conflict as rebel missiles bring down military jet", Observer, archived from the original on 15 June 2014, retrieved 14 June 2014
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ASN20140614
  9. ↑ Глава ЛНР допускает, что сбитый над Луганском Ил-76 был пустым [LPR leader speculates Il-76 shot down over Luhansk was empty], ITAR-TAS (in русский), 17 June 2014, archived from the original on 23 January 2015, retrieved 18 June 2014
  10. ↑ Hrytsak: SBU uncovers involvement of Russian ‘Wagner PMC’ in destroying Il-76 in Donbas, Debaltseve events Archived 13 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Kyiv Post (7 October 2017)
  11. ↑ "SBU confirms Kremlin's role in downing Ukrainian military transport Il-76 aircraft". ssu.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.(in Ukrainian)

External links

Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2014 Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in Ukraine Template:War in Donbas

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