This Wednesday, a Russian military plane transporting 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three companions, crashed in the Belgorod region (border with Ukraine). As announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense -cited by AFP-:
Around 11:00 a.m. in Moscow (0800 GMT), an Il-76 plane crashed in the Belgorod region. On board were 65 prisoners of the Ukrainian army, being transferred to the Belgorod region with a view to an exchange, six crew members and three companions. A commission from the Air Force has left for the place where the plane crashed to establish the causes of the catastrophe.
The Russian Defense Ministry revealed the Ukrainian prisoners were transferred as part of an exchange for Russian captives. However, he did not offer details identifying the passengers.
The Kremlin spokesman, in a press conference, assured that due to the recency of the event, he would not comment on it: "We are going to clarify all this." On the other hand, Viacheslav Volodin - president of the Russian Lower House - accused Ukraine of having shot down the plane.
The Russian plane also "carried missiles"
The kyiv authorities have not yet officially commented on the crash of the plane.
The Ukrainian media Ukrinform reported that - as revealed by its sources in the Armed Forces - the Russian plane was also carrying missiles:
The Russian Il-76 plane that crashed today in the Belgorod region was carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system. It is these missiles that are used for massive bombing raids against the Kharkiv region and other border regions of Ukraine. Sources in the Armed Forces informed the Ukrinform correspondent about this.
