7 hours before the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian Il-76, which was full of Ukrainian prisoners, suddenly crashed, was this an accident or shot down by the Ukrainian army?
Foreword: After more than 600 days of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the largest prisoner exchange has finally ushered in, and according to the plan, the two sides will release more than 400 prisoners in total. However, on the way to the destination of the Il-76 full of Ukrainian prisoners of war, an accident occurred, and after on-site investigation, the plane was suspected to be carrying ammunition, and the real culprit behind the scenes was the work of the Ukrainian army. So, what exactly is the truth?
(Illustration: Il-76 crashed, the airfield carried 74 people, 65 of whom were all Ukrainian prisoners of war)
1. The timing was delicate, and the Il-76 crashed
Up to now, we probably know the following information: When the Il-76 military transport plane flew over Bilgorod Oblast, it suddenly crashed, and after the investigators opened the door, they found that the 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, 6 crew members and 3 escorts on board were all dead, and 74 people did not survive.
Since the crash site is still 5-6 kilometers away from the village of Yabronovo, it did not cause much ground damage.
Another crucial point is that the timing of the crash of the Il-76 was delicate, which happened to be 7 hours before the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. According to the report, nearly 5 months have passed since the last prisoner exchange, so this time Russia and Ukraine agreed to release 200 prisoners of war each, and at the same time, this will also be the largest prisoner exchange since the outbreak of the entire conflict.
However, after the accident, the two sides announced the cancellation of the original plan, and another Russian transport plane carrying 80 Ukrainian prisoners of war also temporarily changed its route.
Soon, Russia and Ukraine began to "confront" each other in the air.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that through the investigation of the accident site, it was found that the radar detected 2 Ukrainian missiles, so there is reason to suspect that the Ukrainian army deliberately launched missiles from the Kharkiv region and hit the Il-76.
According to an anonymous source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in addition to the relevant personnel, the transport plane is likely to carry a batch of anti-aircraft weapons, ready to provide sufficient ammunition for the S-300. Therefore, out of vigilance, the Ukrainian army shot down the transport plane.
But soon, the Ukrainian media retracted the report, saying that this statement had not been confirmed in any way.
(Illustration: Picture of the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine)
2. Accident or man-made? Some speculation about the real culprit
Through the understanding of the above accident situation, we can roughly draw the following important information points:
First, the accident occurred before the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, and secondly, according to the statements of both Russia and Ukraine, it is possible that the plane was carrying anti-aircraft weapons, and the Ukrainian army may also list it as a target.
Speaking of which, the whole thing looks even more confusing.
Some analysts said that if the anonymous Ukrainian person's statement is true, then the Il-76 may have been shot down by the Ukrainian army, and the key is whether they knew that they were carrying a large number of Ukrainian prisoners of war on board before launching the missile?
At present, it is more likely that we know, so why did the Ukrainian army open fire regardless of the lives of prisoners of war? Is there a possibility of killing people and killing people?
In other words, if the Ukrainian army really wants to kill people, the advantage of doing so is that the Russian army can lose the bargaining chips for exchanging prisoners of war with Ukraine.
In fact, the exchange of prisoners of war between the two warring sides on the battlefield is a very important link.
First, most of the prisoners of war were soldiers with rich combat experience, which played a huge role in fighting the war, and at the same time, returning the other side could also reduce the logistical pressure and save the number of prisoners of war.
Second, the exchange of prisoners of war can also send a positive signal to front-line soldiers that they can still have the hope of returning safely after being captured, so as to fight more heroically and reduce the risk of leaking secrets after being captured.
Third, the warring parties were able to rely on enemy prisoners to exchange some captured important personnel. In the previous war in Syria, Russia exchanged six ISIS prisoners of war for the body of its own infantry lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko.
(Illustration: Y-20 laminated with live ammunition appeared in Central Asia to send relief supplies to Afghanistan)
3. How to defend the transport aircraft? The Y-20 gives a reference
Of course, the above is all speculation, and the specific truth depends on the results of the investigators.
But it is undeniable that the crash of the Il-76 also serves as a wake-up call for all countries, including Russia, that is, how to improve the defense capability of transport aircraft?
As we all know, the main purpose of transport aircraft is to transport weapons and equipment, soldiers or relief materials, and under normal circumstances, there is not much firepower equipment installed on the fuselage, so how to ensure the safety of transport aircraft for self-defense has become a problem that countries strive to solve.
As one of the most famous transport aircraft in the world, the Il-76 is still the main aircraft of Russia, and its performance is comparable to the American C141, a transport aircraft, which can transport 40 tons of cargo at a time and fly more than 5,000 kilometers in 6 hours. That is, there is no place where the Il-76 cannot go.
Although it is equipped with two 23mm tail cannons and has a strong ability to resist hits, it is still difficult to ensure a safe landing after a missile and fighter attack.
With the advent of the Y-20, its existence has also provided a beautiful reference answer for transport aircraft of various countries.
Although the Y-20 draws on a lot of Russian Il-76 and American C-17 designs, it has a late-mover advantage after all, so its overall performance is in the first echelon.
It is worth mentioning that the Y-20 is equipped with an advanced flight control system, infrared sensors around the fuselage, in addition, it is also equipped with laser directional jamming system, infrared warning system, infrared/chaff jamming and other equipment, which can resist the threat of air defense missiles and air-to-air missiles to a certain extent.
(Illustration: The Y-20 cockpit is full of black technology, and it is also equipped with a HUD head-up display, which has strong battlefield situational awareness)
4. On the Y-20, there are more surprises
In addition to the above equipment, there are many surprises on the Y-20, and CCTV programs have disclosed many systems of the Y-20, such as HUD head-up display.
The so-called head-up display, also known as head-up display and head-up display, mainly uses the principle of optical reflection to project important information on the glass at the front of the driver's cockpit, and the height is level with his eyes, so as to help the driver synchronously complete the two important actions of observing the environment and reading data.
It can be seen that the Y-20 equipped with a HUD head-up display has battlefield situational awareness not inferior to that of fighters such as the Z-10. It is reported that the equipment is widely used, not only on the Y-20, but also on the fifth-generation aircraft and the Thunder Dragon UAV.
All in all, whether it is the Il-76 or the Y-20, how the transport aircraft strengthens their defense will become an important direction that countries need to make breakthroughs in the future.