Russian military plane crashes with dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war

Sputnik news agency has quoted the Ministry of Defense of Russia as saying that there were 65 Ukrainian soldiers in the plane who were being transported to the Belgorod region in Russia to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. According to the report, there were also 6 crew members and three other people in the plane. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the Russian president, has also announced that the Kremlin has been informed about the plane crash, but did not give details. Peskov has confirmed that a Russian Air Force mission has been sent to the crash site to determine its causes. The governor of the city of Belgorod has said that all the people who were on the Russian military plane have died. The Moscow government news agency, TASS, has reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Ukraine shot down the military plane that crashed in the Belgorod region and called the act "brutal". Meanwhile, Ukrainian media have reported that Ukraine's air defense has shot down a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 over Belgorod airspace, which, if confirmed, would not be the first time Ukraine has killed its soldiers held hostage by Russia.