By Henry Austin -
NBC News
Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of shooting down a military plane and killing the 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The flight was headed to the southern Belgorod region for a border prisoner exchange when it was shot down by a “terrorist act,” Russian authorities said.
The Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft was “conducting a scheduled flight” to an airfield near the border when it was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile system, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Neither Noticias Telemundo nor NBC News could independently verify who was aboard the flight or what caused it to crash.
Ukrainian authorities warned to be cautious about sharing “unverified information” but did not immediately offer further details.
“On board the plane were six crew members, 65 Ukrainian military personnel for the exchange and three Russian military personnel accompanying them.
The crew and all the passengers of the plane died,” the statement said.
A fireball is seen after the crash of a Russian military plane near Yablonovo, Belgorod region, on January 24, 2024.AP