Uncertainty hangs over Russia’s version of POW plane crash

KYIV: Questions remained Thursday over the military plane crash that Russia said had killed dozens of captured Ukrainian soldiers ahead of a planned prisoner exchange.

The Russian defence and foreign ministries blamed Ukrainian forces for downing the IL-76 transport plane over the southern Belgorod region.

They said 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers had been on board, as well as their escorts and the crew.

Videos on social media on Wednesday showed a large plane in the western Belgorod region plummeting from the sky on its side before crashing in a fireball, in what the Kremlin called a “monstrous act”.

While officials in Kyiv have not denied the Russian allegations outright, they have questioned key aspects of its narrative — such as whether its servicemen were killed.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said it had no “comprehensive information” detailing who was on the flight.

Kyiv has confirmed that an exchange had been scheduled for later Wednesday on the border between the two countries.

But the military intelligence unit said Moscow had not informed it in advance that the POWs would be transported by plane, as it had in the past.

In another carefully worded statement, Ukraine’s army pointed to heightened Russian military activity in the Belgorod region, pledging to “continue” attacking Russian military targets — again without specifically addressing Moscow’s claims.