2014 Ukrainian Air Force Il-76 shootdown

Last updated

2014 Ukrainian Air Force Il-76 shootdown
Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76MD (76777).jpeg
76777, the Il-76 involved, photographed a month before the incident
Shootdown
Date14 June 2014 (2014-06-14)
SummaryShot down with shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles by Russian separatist forces
SiteNear Luhansk International Airport, Luhansk, Ukraine
48°23′54″N39°28′47″E / 48.39833°N 39.47972°E / 48.39833; 39.47972
Aircraft
Aircraft type Ilyushin Il-76MD
OperatorEnsign of the Ukrainian Air Force.svg  Ukrainian Air Force
Registration 76777
Destination Luhansk International Airport, Ukraine
Occupants49
Passengers40
Crew9
Fatalities49
Survivors0

On 14 June 2014, an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft of the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down by forces of the Russia-backed separatists from Luhansk People's Republic while on approach to land at Luhansk International Airport, Ukraine, during the initial phase of the war in Donbas. The aircraft was carrying troops and equipment from an undisclosed location. All 49 people on board were killed.

Contents

Attack

A memorial to the paratroopers of the 25th Airborne Brigade who died in the shootdown, Kryvyi Rih Zagiblim 25-yi povitriano-desantnoyi brigadi (Krivii Rig).JPG
A memorial to the paratroopers of the 25th Airborne Brigade who died in the shootdown, Kryvyi Rih

The aircraft was carrying military equipment and 40 troops, as well as a crew of nine. It was coming in to land at Luhansk International Airport when it came under anti-aircraft fire. [1] According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, a heavy machine gun had been used to fire upon the aircraft. [2] According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office, the aircraft was brought down by man-portable air-defense system equipment. [3] It subsequently crashed at 00:51 local time (21:51 on 13 June, UTC) near the village of Krasne; [4] all 49 people on board died. [1] [2] [5] The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence blamed the pro-Russian separatists for the loss of the aircraft and troops. [1] The aircraft was reported to have been carrying 40 paratroopers of the 25th Separate Dnipropetrovsk Airborne Brigade in addition to its crew. [6]

A military analyst based in Kyiv reported that two empty launch tubes for Igla missiles had been found near the Luhansk airport. Vladimir Inogorodsky, spokesman of the Donetsk People's Republic, confirmed that Igla missiles had been used. Separatists had said a week prior to the downing of the plane that they would not allow any more flights into the airport. [7]

The incident was the worst loss suffered by the Ukrainian military in a single event since the pro-Russian conflict began in February 2014. [5] It was also the fourth deadliest involving the Il-76 and the tenth deadliest aircrash in Ukraine. [8]

According to a Russian source, on 17 June the head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) Valeriy Bolotov announced that investigators from the LPR were able to find neither armaments nor the body parts of soldiers at the crash site. Bolotov hypothesized that the plane was empty and was intended to transport the bodies of soldiers killed in action, while reaffirming that rebels had shot down the plane. [9]

On 7 October 2017, the Security Service of Ukraine claimed it had established the involvement of the Russian private military company Wagner Group in the downing of the Il-76. [10]

On 14 June 2019, on the fifth anniversary of the shootdown of the aircraft, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that its investigators established direct involvement of Russian Federation Armed Forces lieutenant general Yevgeny Nikiforov, who ordered Dmitry Utkin from "Wagner Group" to destroy the aircraft. [11]

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-76MD of the Ukrainian Air Force, [1] [12] registration 76777, manufacturer's serial number 0083482490. The aircraft had first flown in 1988. [8]

Originally operated by Aeroflot as CCCP-76777, the aircraft had subsequently served with the Ukrainian Air Force, Azov-Azia Aircompany and Avilond TAC as UR-76777 before serving with Payam Air as EP-TPY. A planned acquisition by the ATI Aircompany did not go ahead, and the aircraft was reacquired by the Ukrainian Air Force. [13]

Reactions

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko threatened separatists with an "adequate response" [6] and declared 15 June a day of national mourning. [7] [14] In a televised emergency meeting, Poroshenko scolded the head of the country's SBU security service for "omissions" in protecting the aircraft. He called for "a detailed analysis of the reasons" for the failure and indicated that personnel changes may be instituted. [15] The acting defense minister of Ukraine Mykhaylo Koval announced that the decision has been made to relieve the chief of staff of the Ukrainian military of his duties for the period of the investigation into the incident. [16]

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk remarked, "They lost their lives because they defended men and women, children and the elderly". He also said: "First, we will commemorate the heroes by wiping out those who killed them and then by cleaning our land from the evil". [17]

In March 2017, a Ukrainian court sentenced Major General Viktor Nazarov to seven years' imprisonment, the court decision stated that Nazarov had received information that the plane could have been fired upon by MANPADS equipment. [18] On 21 May 2021 the Criminal Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court acquitted Nazarov. [19]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine at the Battle of Vasylkiv, Lieutenant general Valerii Zaluzhnyi and others on social media referenced the 2014 Ukrainian Il-76 shootdown after reports emerged that two Russian Il-76 were shot down on 26 February 2022. They described the destruction of the two Russian transport aircraft as "revenge" for the loss of all the occupants of the Ukrainian Il-76. [20] [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilyushin Il-76</span> Russian heavy military transport aircraft

The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. It was developed to deliver heavy machinery to remote, poorly served areas. Military versions of the Il-76 have been widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an aerial refueling tanker or command center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberia Airlines Flight 1812</span> 2001 accidental commercial airliner shootdown incident

Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 was a commercial flight shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force over the Black Sea on 4 October 2001, en route from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Novosibirsk, Russia. The aircraft, a Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-154, carried 66 passengers and 12 crew members. Most of the passengers were Israelis visiting relatives in Russia. There were no survivors. The crash site is about 190 km west-southwest of the Black Sea resort of Sochi, 140 km north of the Turkish coastal town of Fatsa and 350 km south-southeast of Feodosiya in Crimea. The crash was caused by a missile launched during joint Ukrainian-Russian military air-defence exercises at the Russian-controlled training ground of the 31st Russian Black Sea Fleet Research center on Cape Opuk near the city of Kerch in Crimea. Ukraine eventually admitted that it might have caused the crash, probably by an errant S-200 missile fired by its armed forces. Ukraine paid $15 million to surviving family members of the 78 victims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasylkiv</span> City in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Vasylkiv is a city on the Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. First mentioned in the 10th century, Vasylkiv was incorporated as a city in 1796.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snizhne</span> City in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine

Snizhne or Snezhnoye, formerly known as Vasylivka until 1864, is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The eastern edge of Snizhne is adjacent to administrative border of Luhansk Oblast. Its population is 45,767.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pervomaisk, Luhansk Oblast</span> City in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine

Pervomaisk is a city in Kadiivka urban hromada, Alchevsk Raion (district), Luhansk Oblast (region), Ukraine, on the left bank of the Luhan River. Pervomaisk is 71 kilometres (44 mi), by road, from Luhansk, 133 kilometres (83 mi) from Izvarino, where there is the de jure international border between Ukraine and Russia, and 736km from Kyiv.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luhansk International Airport</span> Airport in Luhansk, Ukraine

Luhansk International Airport was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine. The airport was located 20 km south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 June 2014, the airport has been officially closed. It was mostly destroyed during the war in Donbas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Airborne Brigade (Ukraine)</span> Ukrainian Air Assault Forces formation

The 25th Separate Airborne Brigade "Sicheslav" is an airborne formation of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.

The following lists events that happened in the year 2014 in Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donetsk People's Republic</span> Disputed Russian republic in eastern Ukraine

The Donetsk People's Republic is a republic of Russia, comprising the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Donetsk. The DPR was created by Russian-backed paramilitaries in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed in 2022. The entire territory of DPR is viewed as sovereign territory of Ukraine by nearly all UN member states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian separatist forces in Ukraine</span> Pro-Russian paramilitary groups in eastern Ukraine

Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, primarily the People's Militias of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), were pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. They were under the overall control of the Russian Federation. They were also referred to as Russian proxy forces. They were active during the war in Donbas (2014–2022), the first stage of the Russo-Ukrainian War. They then supported the Russian Armed Forces against the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the 2022 Russian invasion. In September 2022, Russia annexed the DPR and LPR, and began integrating the paramilitaries into its armed forces. They are designated as terrorist groups by the government of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Donbas</span> 2014–2022 war between Ukraine and Russia

The war in Donbas, or Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when a commando unit headed by Russian citizen Igor Girkin seized Sloviansk in Donetsk oblast. The Ukrainian military launched an operation against them. The war continued until subsumed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luhansk People's Republic</span> Disputed Russian republic in eastern Ukraine

The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic is a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitaries in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022. The entire territory of LPR is viewed as sovereign territory of Ukraine by nearly all UN member states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of the Luhansk border base</span> 2014 siege during the War in Donbas

The siege of the Luhansk border base was a two-day-long standoff at a Ukrainian border base located on the outskirts of Luhansk city, from 2 to 4 June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysia Airlines Flight 17</span> Airliner shot down by Russian-controlled forces in 2014

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk 9M38 surface-to-air missile on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 kilometres from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage from the aircraft landed near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km from the border. The shoot-down occurred during the war in Donbas over territory controlled by Russian separatist forces.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonid Pasechnik</span> Head of the Luhansk Peoples Republic

Leonid Ivanovich Pasechnik is a Ukrainian-born politician who has served as Head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) since 2017. He holds the position in acting capacity ever since the illegal and unrecognized Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022. Pasechnik had previously held office as the LPR's Minister of State Security from 2014 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Transport Aviation Brigade</span> Military unit of the Ukrainian Air Force

The 25th Transport Aviation Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Air Force based at Melitopol Air Base.

Viktor Mykolayovych Nazarov is a Ukrainian former army officer, who was ranked a major general of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and First Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Department of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces until 30 September 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ukraine crisis: Military plane shot down in Luhansk". BBC News. 14 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "76777 Criminal Occurrence description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Глава ЛНР допускает, что сбитый над Луганском Ил-76 был пустым [Head of the DPR surmises that the il-76 which was shot down over Lugansk was empty], ITAR-TAS (in Russian), 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. ↑ "СБУ встановила причетність Кремля до збиття українського військово-транспортного літака ІЛ-76". ssu.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.(in Ukrainian)
  12. ↑ "Ukraine's Poroshenko vows response to Luhansk plane downing". BBC News. 14 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Airframes Profile for: Il-76 msn 83482490". Aero Transport Data Bank. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Day of mourning for downed Ukrainian army transport plane". Euronews. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  15. ↑ McHugh, David; Dobrnjakovic, Marko (14 June 2014). "Ukraine vows to punish rebels who downed plane". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  16. ↑ Глава ГОУ ГШ ВС Украины отстранен из-за расследования дела об ИЛ-76 [Head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces GOU suspended because of the investigation into the loss of IL-76] (in Russian), 15 June 2014, archived from the original on 19 October 2017, retrieved 15 June 2014– via RIA Novosti
  17. ↑ "Ukraine's Prime Minister Yatsenyuk: We will commemorate the heroes by cleaning our land from the evil", Embassy of Ukraine in the United States of America, 15 June 2014, archived from the original on 15 June 2014, retrieved 15 June 2014
  18. ↑ (in Ukrainian) Ill-76 disaster: General Nazarov's appeal will be considered first Archived 22 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine , Ukrayinska Pravda (29 November 2018)
  19. ↑ General Nazarov was acquitted in the case of the IL-76 plane shot down over Luhansk Генерала Назарова виправдали у справі збитого над Луганськом літака Іл-76 Archived 29 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine , Ukrayinska Pravda (21 May 2021)
  20. ↑ "2 Russian transport jets shot down as attacks continue in Kyiv: Reports". The Week. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  21. ↑ Demerly, Tom (26 February 2022). "Reports: "Two Russian Il-76s Shot Down" in Ukraine, Combat Erupts in Kyiv". The Aviationist. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.