A Russian military aircraft crashed in Belgorod near the border with Ukraine on Wednesday. The region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said everyone on board died in the crash.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have shared conflicting information regarding what happened and who was on board.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on the Il-76 military plane, while Ukrainian media has reported that Ukrainian officials believe the aircraft had missiles intended for Russia’s S-300 air defense system.
“Today, at 11:15 a.m., the Kyiv regime committed a terrorist act as a result of which a Russian military transport aircraft was shot down, flying along the route Chkalovsky-Belgorod airfield to transport Ukrainian military personnel for exchange,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The plane was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the area of Liptsy, Kharkiv region, using an anti-aircraft missile system,” the ministry said. “The radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles.”
Russian authorities are investigating the crash, Gladkov added.
The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which oversees prisoners of war for the Ukrainian government, acknowledged they are looking into Russia’s claims.
“The information from Russia, claiming that Ukrainian prisoners were allegedly on board the plane, is currently being gathered and analyzed. Until official statements or comments from Ukrainians are released, please refrain from spreading unverified information,” the statement said.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence representative Andriy Yusov acknowledged a prisoner swap was supposed to occur on Wednesday, but has since said it’s been called off following the crash.
“The exchange planned for today is not taking place,” he said.
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The two sides have agreed to a number of prisoner exchanges throughout the war, and the largest such swap occurred earlier this month.
It’s unclear why Ukraine would, as Russia alleges, target an aircraft carrying its own troops captured in battle on the verge of a swap that would secure their return.