Russia’s Defense Ministry has accused Ukrainian forces of shooting down a military transport plane in Russia’s Belgorod region, killing all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), Associated Press reports.
The plane, identified as an Il-76 transport, was reportedly en route for a scheduled prisoner swap when it crashed. Video footage on social media shows the plane crashing in a snowy, rural area, causing a massive fire. The crash site saw a massive response from firefighters, ambulances, and police.
The Russian military allege that the POWs were being transported for a swap when the plane was downed, with Russian radar registering the launch of two missiles from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The ministry did not provide evidence for its claim.
The Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrii Yusov confirmed that a prisoner swap was scheduled for the day but was not proceeding as planned. He mentioned that the agency is checking whether Ukrainian POWs were on the downed plane.
