A plane shot down in Sudan’s North Darfur state had Russian crew members onboard and was being used by the Sudanese army to resupply the besieged city of al-Fashir, according to claims made by the opposing faction and documents allegedly found in the wreckage.
The incident sheds light on the shadowy supply networks fueling the 18-month conflict between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a war that has displaced over 11 million people, caused severe hunger, and attracted foreign involvement.
Flight tracking data and social media accounts, which have not been previously reported, suggest the transport plane had switched sides months ago, moving from supplying the RSF to supporting the army. A Reuters investigation into the documents, footage, and social media indicates at least one of the Russian crew members had a background in arms trafficking.
Footage shared by RSF forces showed their troops surrounding the burning wreckage of the plane, which they claimed to have shot down in al-Malha, north of al-Fashir, early Monday morning. In a rare disclosure of foreign involvement near conflict zones, the RSF also released pictures purportedly showing the identity documents of two Russians said to be onboard, along with three Sudanese army personnel.
An RSF source stated the aircraft was an Ilyushin transport plane tasked with dropping weapons, ammunition, and supplies into al-Fashir, where the Sudanese army and allied rebel groups have been defending against RSF assaults for several months. The plane had just completed a delivery when it was hit, the source added.
An analysis of the wreckage, conducted by the London-based Centre for Information Resilience, confirmed that parts of the engine and stabilizer components matched those of a Russian-made Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane. The group pinpointed the crash site 80 miles north of al-Fashir using footage from the RSF, which was verified by comparing the landscape, terrain, and vegetation in the area.
Sudan’s army did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comments regarding the downed plane. Reuters was unable to independently verify how the plane was shot down or its exact flight path.
Reuters identified at least two Russians believed to have been on the plane by matching the RSF-shared footage of their IDs with social media profiles. This was further confirmed using public databases of leaked personal data, facial recognition software, and access to a Russian official database to confirm the identities of the suspected crew members.
Russia’s embassy in Sudan has confirmed that it is investigating the recent plane downing, while the Russian foreign ministry has yet to comment. The Sudanese military is known for frequently employing crews from former Soviet countries.
SHIFTING FLIGHT PATHS
Sudan’s war, which began after tensions between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) boiled over during their shared governance post-coup, has seen both sides receiving foreign support as they vied for power ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
Photos of documents circulating online after the plane was downed included a set of safety instructions showing the registration number EX-76011. This number corresponds to an IL-76 aircraft previously operated by New Way Cargo, an airline that, according to a report by the Sudan Conflict Observatory funded by the U.S. State Department, had been supplying the RSF through Chad with backing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
However, RSF officials did not confirm the plane’s registration number. A reverse image search showed no previous posts of the safety instruction document, reducing the likelihood of it being an older image from another location.
The UAE has denied accusations of providing military support to the RSF, although a United Nations panel of experts found the claims credible.
Flight tracking data and satellite imagery analyzed by Reuters show EX-76011 flying towards Chad until November 2023. However, the most recent available data from December 2023 shows the aircraft heading to Port Sudan, the army’s de facto headquarters on the Red Sea coast. Information from Swiss intelligence provider ch-aviation indicated that EX-76011 was operated by New Way Cargo, a Bishkek-based airline in Kyrgyzstan, and managed by Astraway FZC, a UAE-based aviation company.
Kyrgyzstan’s civil aviation agency informed Reuters that the plane was removed from its registry and transferred to Sudan in January 2024. Astraway FZC confirmed that it ceased operations with EX-76011 and its crew in December 2023. Representatives from New Way Cargo did not respond to inquiries.
The safety instructions with the EX-76011 tail number are labelled with the name “NeWay Cargo”. The logo and styling are similar to those of NeWay Logistics LLC, a Dubai-based charter broker.
Erwin Burger, owner and general manager of NeWay Logistics LLC, told Reuters on Monday that they had nothing to do with the airline or the flight.
“Someone is illegally using our company logo,” he said.
RUSSIAN CREW
One of the suspected crew members is Victor Granov, 67, whose work ID, South African driver’s license and expired passport were found in the wreckage, according to footage provided by the RSF. Information from a LinkedIn account and Russian court records show him living in South Africa.
A 2005 report by rights group Amnesty identifies Granov as a South Africa-based businessman formerly associated with Victor Bout, a notorious arms dealer released in a prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. in 2022.
According to the report, Granov ran two airlines accused of violating an arms embargo in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Granov’s daughter and ex-wife did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Bout could not be reached for comment.
A second suspected crew member is Anton Selivanets, 33, whose Russian passport was found at the site, according to footage shared by the RSF.
Photos of Selivanets on social networks Instagram and OK show him posing with IL76 planes labelled with the World Food Programme (WFP) logo at airports in Ethiopia.
WFP said Selivanets is not a crew member or contractor for the organisation. Selivanets’ wife did not respond to text messages requesting comment.
The RSF also sent Reuters a video they said came from a mobile phone recovered from the plane. Reuters identified one of the men in the video as Russian Alexander Kabanov, 61, who posted the same video to his VK and Tiktok accounts more than a year ago.
Kabanov’s social media accounts show that he served in the elite airborne troops and spent several years in Africa, particularly in Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan. Reuters could not confirm who the phone belonged to.
Kabanov’s relatives did not respond to requests for comment.
