Moscow blames Kyiv as Russian military plane crash kills 74

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of shooting down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war, which crashed near Russia’s border with Ukraine on Wednesday morning.

Russia’s defence ministry said all 74 people onboard the Il-76 plane died, including 65 Ukrainian soldiers who were being transported for a prisoner exchange from Moscow to the Belgorod region of Russia — the Russian border province that has faced the most spillover from President Vladimir Putin’s nearly two-year invasion.

Six crew members and three Russian service personnel accompanying the prisoners were also among the passengers, according to the defence ministry.

Video posted on social media app Telegram showed a plane banking sharply near a village before bursting into a large ball of flame as it hit the ground. Trails from what appeared to be anti-aircraft fire were visible in the sky behind, while the plane appeared to be on fire before crashing.

Moscow claimed Kyiv’s forces shot down the plane to sabotage the PoW exchange “with the goal of accusing Russia of eliminating Ukrainian soldiers”.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence unit said Russia bore responsibility for the safe transport of Ukrainian PoWs and Kyiv should have been notified if they were on board.

“We do not have reliable and comprehensive information about who exactly was on board,” GUR said, adding: “the Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to ensure the safety of airspace in the area of Belgorod, as was repeatedly done in the past”.

Russia’s failure to do so, GUR added, suggests the incident amounted to “planned and deliberate actions with the aim of destabilising the situation in Ukraine”.

In a cryptic statement issued after the crash, Ukraine’s general staff said it would continue to target Russian military transport planes in Belgorod region given that they deliver…