Russia says 65 Ukrainian POWs killed in plane crash

In a statement on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that an IL-76 cargo aircraft carrying 65 captured Ukrainian service members as well as six crew members and three people accompanying the POWs went down during a pre-planned flight at around 11am local time. It added that the prisoners were being transported to Belgorod region for an exchange.

Defense officials also noted that Moscow has dispatched a commission to establish the cause of the incident.

Kiev’s forces knowingly downed a Russian plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war that crashed on Wednesday, killing all on board, in order to pin the attack on Moscow, the defense ministry has said, adding that Kiev had once again shown its “true colors”.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that radar facilities of the Russian Aerospace Forces recorded the launch of two Ukrainian missiles.

It claimed that the “Kiev regime committed a terrorist act” by targeting the plane, which was transporting POWs for a further prisoner exchange, from the Chkalovsky military airbase near Moscow to Belgorod.

Confirming that everyone aboard was killed in the attack, the ministry said that the Ukrainian leadership was well aware of the flight and its mission. It noted that Moscow and Kiev had agreed to conduct a prisoner exchange later on Wednesday near the Russian border village of Kolotilovka in Belgorod Region.

“Nevertheless, the Nazi Kiev regime [carried out this attack] in a bid to accuse Russia of killing members of the Ukrainian military. By committing this terrorist act, the Ukrainian leadership showed its true face, disregarding the lives of its citizens.”

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has so far declined to comment on the incident, saying only that it was looking into the matter. However, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for Kiev’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR), confirmed that Russia and Ukraine were indeed scheduled to carry out a prisoner exchange on Wednesday, adding that it had since been canceled.