Crash of Russian Military Transport Plane 'Carrying Ukrainian Prisoners'; Kyiv: We Are Investigating the Incident

Russia has accused Ukraine of killing 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war by downing a plane that was supposed to return them to that country during a prisoner exchange. Meanwhile, Ukraine states that it is investigating the incident. Russia claims that all 74 occupants of the military transport plane crashed on Wednesday, January 24, were killed. Moscow has accused Ukraine of 'deliberately' downing the Russian military transport plane, stating that 65 of the deceased were Ukrainian prisoners of war. Reuters reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense, that six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers were also among the occupants of the Il-76 military transport plane. The aircraft crashed near the city of Belgorod, Russia, close to the Ukrainian border. The Russian Ministry of Defense, in a statement regarding the planned exchange of Ukrainian military prisoners, accused Kyiv of showing its true self and disregarding the lives of its citizens. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian President, told Reuters, 'Our opinion will be announced a bit later. It takes time to clarify all the data.' Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence, stated that a prisoner exchange was planned for Wednesday, but 'this plan is currently not being carried out.' Reuters, citing the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, reported that as of the time of publication, there was no reliable information available, but it would share any information if it became available. The Ukrainian media 'Ukrainska Pravda' initially reported, citing military sources, that Kyiv had shot down the plane – which was carrying S-300 missiles – but later corrected this news, stating that other sources did not confirm this information.