Published: 10:04 AM, 25 January 2024
Russia says Kyiv downed POW plane, no survivors
Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of shooting down a military transport plane carrying dozens of Ukrainian
detainees headed for a prisoner exchange, killing everyone on board.
Kyiv confirmed a prisoner swap was due to occur Wednesday, but several hours
after the crash said it still had no reliable information on the passengers,
as President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation.
Videos on social media showed a large plane in Russia's western Belgorod
region falling from the sky on its side before crashing in a fireball.
Russia's defence ministry said the IL-76 plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian
soldiers captured in Russia's offensive, as well as six crew and three
escorts.
It claimed Ukrainian forces stationed in the Kharkiv border region had fired
two missiles at the transport aircraft and described the incident as a
"terrorist act".
"We currently do not have reliable or comprehensive information on who was on
board the plane or in what number," Ukraine's main intelligence agency said
in a statement.
Zelensky, in an evening address, did not confirm or deny Moscow's
accusations, but stressed that Russia was "playing with the lives of
Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their relatives and with the
emotions of our society."
"We need to establish all clear facts, as much as possible given that the
plane crash occurred on Russian territory -- beyond our control," he said.
