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Russian jet carrying Ukrainian PoWs crashes – Moscow
A Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane has crashed in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.
Russia’s ministry of defence said 65 captured Ukrainian military personnel were on the plane heading to Belgorod region for a prisoner exchange.
None of the details surrounding those on board can be independently verified.
Ria Novosti news agency said another nine people were on the plane, including six crew.
Ukraine’s general staff, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda website, said the plane was transporting missiles for Russia’s S-300 air defence systems. It made no mention of prisoners of war.
Video shared on social media showed a plane going down followed by an explosion and a fireball near the village of Yablonovo, 70km (44 miles) to the north-east of the city of Belgorod, at around 11:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
The regional governor in Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the plane crashed in a field near a residential area and that everyone on board had died.
Some Ukrainian media suggested initially that the Il-76 may have been downed by Ukrainian forces, but those reports were later deleted.
Ukraine’s general staff told BBC Ukrainian that it did not have accurate information about the situation and that it was investigating the circumstances. The Ukrainian government body in charge of prisoners of war warned that Russia was “actively carrying out special information operations against Ukraine, which are aimed at destabilising Ukrainian society”.
Andrei Kartapolov, the chairman of Russia’s parliamentary defence committee, claimed later that there had been a second plane in the air transporting 80 Ukrainian prisoners, although that plane had then changed course. “There can now be no talk of any other prisoner exchanges,” Mr Kartapolov told Russian TV.


Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was aware of the crash but refused to go in to details.
A nationwide air raid alert was briefly in place across Ukraine shortly after news of the Il-76 crash emerged.
Belgorod, which is located approximately 25 miles (40km) north of the border with Ukraine, has suffered dozens of casualties from air strikes and drones since the war in Ukraine began. In December, 25 people were killed and 100 were injured following an air strike – although Ukraine insisted that only military infrastructure had been targeted and blamed Russian air defences for fragments falling on the city.
(BBC)
Latest News
Sun directly overhead Kalpitiya, Talawa, Sinharagama, Galkadawala, Nachchaduwa, Padikaramaduwa, Gomarankalla and Verugal about 12.10 noon today (01)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (01) are Kalpitiya, Talawa, Sinharagama, Galkadawala,
Nachchaduwa, Padikaramaduwa, Gomarankalla and Verugal about 12.10 noon.
Latest News
Sri Lanka lose Women’s Champions Trophy hosting rights
The inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, scheduled for February 2027, will be moved out of Sri Lanka with the SLC set to be stripped of hosting rights. Cricinfo has confirmed that the six-team event will be played at a different venue in the same window, and it is likely to be held in India. The new hosts will be confirmed at the next ICC board meeting in October.
Sri Lanka have lost the right to stage the tournament, which was due to be their second ICC event in a year after they also co-hosted the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, because of government interference in their board. The SLC has an interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including to the constitution.
The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.
The change in venue could significantly impact the Sri Lanka side, who only qualified for the event by virtue of it being held in their country. The competition is limited to the top six teams on the ICC rankings and, as of the rankings update on Saturday, Sri Lanka are currently seventh. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa make up the top five. West Indies are sixth and would have originally missed out but if Sri Lanka do not qualify, then the Caribbean could sneak in.
This will be the second time in three years that Sri Lanka have lost out on an ICC event. In 2023, the 2024 men’s Under-19 World Cup was taken away from them  for the same reasons and moved to South Africa.
In any case, while the Transformation Committee is in charge, SLC’s electoral processes stand suspended. The Transformation Committee’s official task is to reform that very electoral system, and the Sri Lanka Cricket constitution in general. According to the country’s laws, this can only be done through parliament.
The Transformation Committee has said it has produced a fresh constitution which is expected to be taken up in parliament over the next few weeks. Members of that Transformation Committee told Cricinfo that it expects for SLC elections to take place before the end of 2026, so long as the parliamentary process runs smoothly.
(Cricinfo)
Latest News
Iran attacks US bases in Jordan after US strikes Larak Island
Iran says it launched missiles at two US bases in Jordan following a US attack on Larak Island in southern Iran earlier on Sunday.
In a statement reported by Iranian news agencies on Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the combined missile and drone operation, which it called âPunishment of the Aggressorâ, hit the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan.
The exchange of attacks is the first flare-up in violence between the two sides since late July.
The IRGC said the strikes âdestroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sitesâ, inflicting significant damage.
Jordan reported intercepting eight missiles soon after the IRGC announced the attack.
âAir defence systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdomâs airspace at dawn today, Monday,â the Jordanian military said in a statement.
No injuries were reported at either base.
âAggression and crimes will not solve the enemyâs desperation in attempting to weaken the Islamic Republicâs control over the Strait of Hormuz, and every attack will be met with even more devastating responses,â the IRGC statement said.
Tehran had promised to retaliate for Sundayâs US attack on Larak Island.
The strikes risk renewing the military confrontation as Washington shifts from its bombing campaign to a financial pressure strategy on Tehran, and as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its seventh month.
On Monday, the US military denied that its Sunday attacks were an âact of aggressionâ.
[Aljazeera]
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