ALBAWABA - An IL-76 military transport Russian plane has crashed with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) onboard in the western Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine.
"On board were 65 captured Ukrainian army servicemen being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange, six crew members and three escorts," the defense ministry was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti news agency.
According to early reports, all passengers and crew members have been killed in the crash. Defense officials also noted that Moscow has dispatched a commission to establish the cause of the incident.
According to a report by Ukrainskaya Pravda, a Ukraine-based newspaper, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were involved in the incident that led to the destruction of the IL-76 plane in Belogrod.
Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov stated that two planes were carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW), and that Moscow needed to urgently divert the second IL-76, which was carrying 80 captured troops, out of the danger zone.
Shortly after Ukrainskaya Pravda released the report, it removed the mention of Kyiv’s role in the downing of the aircraft, stating only that its military sources had confirmed the crash.
