Il-76 Plane With Ukrainian POWs Shot Down Using US Patriot Missile, Putin Says

The investigation established that the Il-76 plane was shot down with a US-made Patriot system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a spokesman of the emergency services told Sputnik that the examination of the January 24 Il-76 plane crash in Russia confirmed that the aircraft was downed by a Western-made air defense missile.

"The plane was shot down — it has already been established for sure — by the US-made Patriot system. The investigation has already established this," Putin said at a meeting with his authorised representatives.

On January 24, the AFU shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport plane over the Belgorod region carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for exchange. All were killed, along with three accompanying Russian military officers and six crew members.

Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine

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

24 January, 16:16

According to President Putin, Ukrainian intelligence knew that there were AFU prisoners of war aboard the Il-76, but still carried out the attack — either out of carelessness or on purpose, "but in any case it is a crime."

Ukraine seems to want to provoke us to take retaliatory actions regarding the downed Il-76 plane, Putin said.

"One can imagine why it [Ukraine] is shelling peaceful cities. There are several goals there — to distract the attention of their own population and sponsors from the failures of the so-called counteroffensive; to show that they can do something; to provoke us to take retaliatory mirror actions to strike at civilian and peaceful targets on the territory of Ukraine itself. We are doing what we are doing, we are hitting infrastructure facilities with precision weapons, of the military first of all, and of the military industry. They want to provoke us into taking retaliatory actions, I probably think so," Putin said.

Putin also accused the Western media of trying to play down the downing of the Russian army's transport plane.

"They are trying to play it down. Look what's in the Western media? Nothing […] but we will not forget about the crimes they commit against our citizens," he said.

The president added that Russia insists on the international investigation of the Il-76 plane crash.

Meanwhile, President Putin said that Moscow will not stop the process of the exchange of prisoners of war with Kiev.

Earlier in the day, Russia returned 195 soldiers from the Kiev-controlled territory after negotiations on the exchange of prisoners of war, the Defense Ministry said.

"We won't stop [exchanging POWs]. We need to bring our guys home. We have a ratio of people who are in Russia [Ukrainian POWs], our guys who are in Ukraine […] one to ten, maybe even more. We will still exchange our guys, if the Ukrainian side is ready, of course. They always give us a signal that they are ready," he stated.