Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine

Kiev's Attack on Russian Il-76 Was Deliberate, Conscious Action, Russian Foreign Ministry Says

On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that a Russian Il-76 military cargo plane carrying captured Ukrainian servicemen had crashed in the Belgorod region. The prisoners of war were to be handed over to the Ukrainian side in exchange for Russian ones on the other side of the border. All those on board the plane were reported dead.
Sputnik
The attack by Ukrainian forces on the Russian Il-76 plane carrying Ukrainian servicemen for a planned prisoner exchange was a deliberate and conscious action, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, commenting on the incident, which it called an "act of terrorism."

"Kiev was well aware of the planned exchange [of prisoners of war]. They knew how and by what route the prisoners of war would be transferred. The attack on the plane was a deliberate and conscious action. The terrorist attack clearly demonstrates the inability of the Kiev regime to negotiate," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry condemned the attack and also called on international organizations to do so, as "their silence will mean support for [Kiev’s] barbarism".
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
Kiev Regime Downed Russian Plane to Accuse Moscow of Killing Ukrainian POWs: Russian MoD
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that an Il-76 transport plane of the Russian air forces with 65 Ukrainian prisoners who were being transported for exchange, six crew members and three accompanying persons, crashed in Belgorod region.
According to the Defense Ministry, 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.
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.