The Kiev regime decided to down a Russian military transport plane in the Belgorod region in a deliberate act of terrorism to accuse Moscow of killing Ukrainian prisoners of war, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the plane, which was en route to Belgorod airfield to transport Ukrainian servicemen as part of a planned prisoner exchange, was shot down by Ukrainian forces using an anti-aircraft missile system near the Liptsy settlement in the Kharkov region.
"The Ukrainian leadership was well aware that, in accordance with the established practice, the transportation of Ukrainian servicemen for exchange by military transport aircraft to the Belgorod airfield would take place today. According to an earlier agreement, this event was to take place in the afternoon at the Kolotilovka checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border," the ministry said. "Nevertheless, the Nazi regime in Kiev took this step in order to accuse Russia of killing the Ukrainian prisoners of war."
The ministry added that Russian radar systems detected the launch of two Ukrainian missiles, resulting in the tragic demise of all individuals aboard the aircraft, which included six crew members, 65 Ukrainian servicemen slated for exchange, and three accompanying Russian servicemen.
"With this terrorist attack, the Ukrainian leadership showed its true face – it does not care about the lives of its citizens," the statement concluded.
Russia's Belgorod region is situated near the border with Ukraine and has often suffered attacks from Ukraine's territory since the beginning of Russia's special military operation there.