Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian military cargo plane that crashed on January 24 in the Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, killing all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian POWs who were on their way to a prisoner exchange.
Ukrainian officials did not confirm or deny the Russian allegation, saying in a statement on Facebook that a prisoner exchange was to have taken place on January 24 and Russia had not informed Ukraine that Ukrainian POWs would be flown on cargo planes.
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate said it did not have "reliable and comprehensive information" on who was on board the flight but said the Russian POWs it was responsible for "were delivered in time to the conditional exchange point where they were safe."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for full clarity on the circumstances of the crash.
"We need to establish all the clear facts, as much as possible, given that the downing of the plane occurred on Russian territory, which is beyond our control," he said in in his nightly video broadcast.
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Russian Transport Plane Goes Down, Leaving Questions Over Death Toll And Cause
"It is clear that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their loved ones, and the emotions of our society," Zelenskiy said.
He did not confirm or deny Russia's claims but said it had been a "very difficult day."
He also called for an international investigation into what brought down the plane.
Moscow backed up its accusation that Ukraine deliberately shot down the Ilyushin Il-76 military cargo plane by saying Russian radar registered the launch of two missiles from Ukraine's Kharkiv region, which borders the Belgorod region.
The Ukrainian military's General Staff said in a statement that did not mention the crash that the Ukrainian military had noticed more Russian military transport aircraft landing in Belgorod and linked this to Russian missile strikes on Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities.
"With this in mind, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy means of delivery and exercise airspace control to eliminate the terrorist threat, including in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction," it said on Telegram.
The Ukrainian military intelligence statement on Facebook said Kyiv had not been asked to ensure airspace security around the Belgorod area as had been the case during previous POW swaps.
It said Russia's accusations that Kyiv shot down the transport plane could be "a planned action to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for our state."
The United States has no confirmation of who may have been on board the plane, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“We’ve seen the reports, but we’re not in any position to confirm them,” Kirby said.
Russia called for an emergency UN Security Council session to discuss the downing of the aircraft, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called a "criminal" act by Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian prisoners of war were transported to the Belgorod region in order to conduct yet another swap that was agreed between Moscow and Kyiv," Lavrov told a press conference at the United Nations in New York.
"Instead of this, the Ukrainian side launched an air defense missile from the Kharkiv region. It targeted the airplane and was a fatal strike."
Russian officials said earlier that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members, and three escorts.
A list of the six crew members who were supposed to be on the flight was obtained by RFE/RL. The deaths of three of the crew members were confirmed to RFE/RL by their relatives.
Video on social media showed a plane, which appears to be an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft, spiraling to the ground, followed by a loud bang and explosion that sent a ball of smoke and flames skyward.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the plane crash, saying he was still gathering information on the incident.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the plane crash, saying he was still gathering information on the incident.
However, Russian lawmaker and retired General Andrei Kartapolov, speaking in a television interview, accused Ukraine of shooting the plane down, while the media outlet Ukrayinska Pravda, citing what it called sources in Ukraine's armed forces, wrote that Kyiv's military had indicated the crash was "their work," adding that the plane was carrying missiles for Russia's S-300 air-defense system. It later deleted the post.
Moscow and Kyiv have held several prisoner swaps since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry earlier reported that a drone had been shot down in the region but gave no further details.