Il-76 crash: ISW reveals how Russian propaganda exploits case to discredit Ukraine
Photo: ISW reveals how Russian propaganda exploits Il-76 crash to discredit Ukraine (t me nexta_live)
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Russian propagandists, accusing Ukraine of allegedly shooting down the Il-76 plane with prisoners of war near Belgorod, are pursuing several objectives at once.
"Russian information space actors are seizing on the Il-76 crash to sow domestic discontent in Ukraine and undermine Western will to continue giving military support to Ukraine," the report says.
In addition, ISW cites a series of statements by representatives of the Russian political elite who are partially aimed at sowing discontent in Ukraine and increasing distrust toward the Ukrainian government.
"This is consistent with several other Russian information efforts aimed at weakening Ukraine domestically," the report specifies.
Furthermore, Russian officials also made unfounded statements that Ukraine allegedly struck the Il-76 with missile systems provided by the United States or Germany, possibly in an attempt to dissuade Ukraine's Western partners from providing critically important systems for Ukraine's continuous defense.
Crash of the Russian Il-76 plane
The Russian military transport plane Il-76 crashed on January 24 in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region. Russian Telegram channels were the first to report this.
In a comment to RBC-Ukraine, sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the plane was carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system.
At the same time, Russia began inventing its versions of the incident. For example, the Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that the plane crashed but claimed that 65 Ukrainian military personnel were on board as prisoners, along with six crew members and three accompanying individuals.
