Russian military plane crashes near Ukraine border

Ukraine's military command has issued a carefully worded statement following the crash of a Russian military plane near the Ukrainian border, in which the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said Russian cargo weapons had been bringing weapons closer to the border recently.

In the statement, Ukraine said recent attacks on Kharkiv, which is about 30 kilometers from Russia, were being facilitated by the cargo planes bringing more weapons.

But, the Ukrainian General Staff statement stopped short of addressing Russian claims the crashed plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war ahead of an exchange.  

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The White House is aware of claims a Russian military plane crashed in Belgorod region carrying Ukrainian servicemen ahead of a prisoner exchange but had no further information to offer on Wednesday. 

“No, we don't,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby responded when asked if the United States had more info. “We've seen the reports but we're not in a position to confirm them.”  

Kirby said the administration was “obviously doing the best we can to try to get more clarity and more information on it.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukraine of targeting the plane that went down in the Belgorod region with a missile while addressing reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday. 

CNN is not able to independently verify Russia’s claims. 

Lavrov said he has also requested an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting at 3 p.m. ET today following the downing of the plane.

Ukraine's military command says it regards Russian military aircraft approaching Belgorod as legitimate targets, but stopped short of acknowledging it fired at a Russian transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia.

In a carefully worded statement, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said recent attacks on the city of Kharkiv, which lies just 30 kilometers from Russia, are being facilitated by Russian cargo planes bringing weapons close to the border.

“The recorded intensity of the shelling is directly related to the increase in the number of military transport aircraft that have recently been heading to the Belgorod airfield,” the statement said.

“With this in mind, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to destroy delivery means and control the airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, including on the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction.”

Tuesday morning saw one of the deadliest attacks on Kharkiv in weeks, with ten people killed in a missile attack on the city, according to emergency response officials.

The Ukrainian General Staff statement did not address Russian claims the crashed plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war ahead of an exchange.  

Air defense systems in the Belgorod region were active shortly before the crash of a Russian military transport plane Wednesday morning, according to information from the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

On his Telegram channel, Gladkov wrote that a drone had been shot down over the village of Blizhnee, which lies about 60 kilometers southwest of Yablanovo, where the plane crashed. The governor’s post was published at 10:35 a.m. local time, about 40 minutes before Russia’s Defense Ministry says the plane crashed.

In another post, published at 11:12 a.m. local time, Gladkov reported an air attack alert was active, warning people to take shelter. About half an hour later, he said the alert was over.

The governor’s Telegram posts did not draw any connections between the air alert, the drone interception and the plane crash.

For months now, Belgorod has been targeted by Ukraine’s armed forces, mainly using drones, but also with other weapons types. Kyiv is yet to comment on Moscow’s claims Ukraine was responsible for the downing of the transport plane.

Russia's defense ministry has blamed Ukraine for downing an Ilyushin-76 transport plane in the Belgorod region on Wednesday, saying Kyiv used an anti-aircraft missile system to down the plane. 

Kyiv has so far made no comment on Moscow’s claims, which Russian officials have been reporting since shortly after news of the crash broke.

The latest statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry says, "Today, at 11:15 a.m., the Kyiv regime committed a terrorist act as a result of which a Russian military transport aircraft was shot down, flying along the route Chkalovsky-Belgorod airfield to transport Ukrainian military personnel for exchange."

"The plane was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the area of Liptsy, Kharkiv region, using an anti-aircraft missile system," the ministry said. "The radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles."

CNN is not able to independently verify Russia’s claims. 

Russian media has reported that a military plane with 74 people on board has crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia, near the Ukrainian border. The region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said all those on board were killed.

But, there are conflicting reports about who or what was on board. Russian state media reported that 65 Ukrainian servicemen were on the plane, being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap.

Ukraine says the IL-76 that crashed in Belgorod was carrying missiles for the S-300 air defense system, according to the official Ukrainian information service, quoting a source in the Ukrainian armed forces.

CNN has been unable to independently verify either claim. It has reached out to Ukraine for comment on allegations it shot down the plane.

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Ukraine says a prisoner of war exchange with Russia had been due to take place today (Wednesday).

“It is not happening at the moment,” Andriy Yusov, from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, told CNN.

Russia has said the crashed plane was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, but CNN has been unable to verify the claim.

Prisoner exchanges have taken place throughout the war, with the largest prisoner swap yet taking place in early January. More than 200 prisoners from each side were returned to their countries in February 2022.

The Ukrainian government agency that looks after prisoners of war says it is investigating claims a Russian military plane that crashed in Belgorod region was carrying Ukrainian servicemen ahead of a prisoner exchange.

A statement provided no further details but did warn Russia was “actively conducting information special operations against Ukraine aimed at destabilizing Ukrainian society.”

Russian news agencies, quoting Russia’s Defense Ministry, say 65 Ukrainian servicemen who were being flown to Belgorod ahead of a prisoner swap were on board the plane.

The official Ukrainian information service says the IL-76 that crashed was carrying missiles for the Russian S-300 air defense system, citing an unnamed source in the Ukrainian armed forces.