The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (IC RF) established that the order to shoot down the Il-76 military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war was given in 2024 by the commander of the 138th anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Nikolai Dzyaman. According to the department, he was accused in absentia of organizing a terrorist attack and put on the international wanted list. The incident occurred on January 24, 2024, in the Belgorod region, when the plane, flying from the Chkalovsky airfield to Belgorod, was shot down using an anti-aircraft missile from the American Patriot system, which is in service with the aforementioned brigade. As a result of the disaster, everyone on board died: 65 Ukrainian servicemen who were being transported for exchange, six crew members and three accompanying Russian military personnel.

As reported by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the investigation was conducted in cooperation with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. The investigation established that the servicemen who launched the missile acted on a criminal order from Dzyaman, agreed upon with the higher command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The agency also continues to work to identify other accomplices in the crime, including senior officials of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The crash of the Il-76 caused a wide resonance. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian side was notified of the planned exchange of prisoners of war, which was to take place on the border of the Belgorod and Sumy regions in the "192 for 192" format. Despite this, as reported by the official representative of the Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko, the leadership of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) and the Armed Forces of Ukraine knew about the transportation of prisoners, but gave the order to destroy the plane. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident a war crime of the Kyiv regime, emphasizing that the strike was carried out by a Patriot missile, and admitted that this could have been the result of a mistake, but did not rule out the deliberate nature of the attack.

According to the American publication The New York Times, US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Il-76 was shot down by a Patriot missile, but noted that the Ukrainian military probably did not know there were prisoners on board. Kyiv, in turn, has not officially acknowledged responsibility for the attack.