Moscow is accusing Kiev of shooting down an aircraft that carried its own soldier
© Russia’s Investigative Committee
Moscow has released a video that it says shows Ukrainian POWs boarding the military transport plane, which was shot down from the sky in the Russian border region of Belgorod on Wednesday.
The Russian Il-76 crashed near the village of Yablonovo, killing everyone on board, including 65 Ukrainian captives who were slated for a prisoner exchange, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Russian authorities are accusing the Ukrainian troops of shooting down the aircraft with a surface-on-air missile.
Kiev has not provided its version of events, but confirmed that its forces consider Russian Il-76s and other military planes legitimate targets.
The minute-long video published by Russia’s Investigative Committee on Friday shows several trucks driving to a transport plane parked on a snowy airstrip.
The investigators described the footage as “Ukrainian POWs boarding the Il-76 that crashed in the Belgorod region as a result of a terrorist act.”
