General Staff said after crash of Il-76 in Russia: AFU will continue to destroy enemy missile supply facilities

According to Ukrinform, the press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Facebook.

"The enemy's inability to achieve any results on the battlefield continues its strategy of terror, including in the Kharkiv direction. We see the use of missile attacks to destroy Kharkiv and kill civilians in other cities of Ukraine. In the last week alone, the enemy launched 19 missile attacks on the Kharkiv region. They used: 26 S-300 air defense systems; 3 Iskander-M missiles. As a result, 16 people were killed, including one child. 78 people were wounded. 13 buildings were destroyed, including one hospital, three educational institutions, and six residential buildings," the statement said.

As noted, in order to reduce the missile threat, the Armed Forces of Ukraine not only control the airspace, but also monitor in detail the launch points of missiles and the logistics of their supply, especially with the use of military transport aircraft. The recorded intensity of the shelling is directly related to the increase in the number of military transport aircraft that have recently been flying to the Belgorod airfield.

"With this in mind, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy delivery vehicles and control the airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, including in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction," the General Staff emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, according to Russian telegram channels, an Il-76 aircraft, which is used to transport equipment and troops, crashed in the Belgorod region.

Russian media reported that there were 63 people on board, all of whom died.

Sources in the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the plane was transporting missiles for the S-300 air defense system. These missiles are used for massive shelling of Kharkiv region and other border regions of Ukraine. The Air Force has not yet commented on the downing of the IL-76, but promised to provide it later.

According to media reports, the Russian Defense Ministry claims that the plane "was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen," as well as six crew members and three escorts.

According to the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Andrey Yusov, the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine was supposed to take place on January 24. According to the representative of the GUR, the information voiced by the Russian side that the prisoners of war could have been in the IL-76 plane that crashed in the Belgorod region is being checked.