“The funeral of the crew of the Russian Il-76 shot down by the Ukrainian armed forces near Belgorod will take place in a solemn atmosphere on Thursday in Orenburg,” he told RIA Novosti.
According to Zhitenev, representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, regional authorities and everyone affected by the tragedy are expected to attend the ceremony.
The agency's interlocutor clarified that the dead will be buried in different places in accordance with the wishes of their relatives and friends.
“We support each other. Our sons died for their Motherland. They are real heroes,” concluded the flight engineer’s father.
On January 24, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Ukrainian Armed Forces hit a Russian Il-76 aircraft with captured Ukrainian military personnel over the Belgorod region using an anti-aircraft missile system.
The Russian Investigative Committee reported that, judging by the seized fragments, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used a MIM-104A guided missile from the Patriot air defense system to hit the aircraft.