Ministry says aircraft that went down in border region of Belgorod was carrying prisoners who were to be swapped
A Russian military transport plane has crashed in the border region of Belgorod, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
The ministry said the aircraft was carrying 65 Ukrainian PoWs who were to be swapped. The ministry added that onboard the Ilyushin Il-76 were also six crew and three other people.
The Belgorod regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said all 74 people onboard had died.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Russian military transport plane has crashed in the border region of Belgorod, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
The Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper, citing sources, initially said Kyiv’s armed forces shot down the plane but later withdrew the report.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show the moment a large aircraft crashed and exploded in a vast fireball.
Andrei Kartapolov, a senior lawmaker in Russia’s parliament and a retired general, said during a parliamentary session that the plane had been shot down by three missiles.
This month, the two countries announced the largest exchange of prisoners since the start of the war, involving the return of more than 200 soldiers from each side in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
It has come under extensive shelling and drone attacks for months including a missile strike on the region’s capital in December that killed 25 people.
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