Russia claims that Ukrainian forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), but Ukrainian officials dispute this and state that Russia has provided no credible evidence, Associated Press reports.
The Ukrainian agency responsible for prisoner exchanges noted a delay in providing the list of 65 Ukrainians allegedly on the plane from Russia, with relatives unable to identify them in crash site photos. The International Committee of the Red Cross urges Russia to return any bodies of Ukrainian POWs.
Ukraine has not confirmed or denied involvement in the plane crash, calling Russia’s assertion “rampant propaganda.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls for an international investigation, while Russia with sole access to the crash site in the Belgorod region, pledges to make its findings public
