A Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) has crashed in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, killing all on board, Russia's Ministry of Defence said on January 24.

According to the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency, alongside the 65 POWs were nine individuals on board, including six crew members. The Ukrainians were reportedly being transferred for a prisoner exchange, due to take place at the Kolotilovka checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border. On the messaging app Telegram, Russian Today editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan published a list of the POWs alleged to be on the plane. However, the details surrounding those on board are yet to be verified and confirmed.

The details of the downing are yet to be confirmed by Kyiv. Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda news website, Ukraine’s general staff instead claimed that the plane was carrying missiles for Russia's S-300 air defence systems. There was no mention of prisoners of war.

However, speaking to RFE/RL, Andriy Yusov from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate confirmed that a prisoner exchange was scheduled for January 24 and was "currently not taking place." 

Initial reports from some Ukrainian media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, suggested the possibility that the Il-76 may have been downed by Ukrainian forces. These reports were later deleted, and the circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the plane was shot down by “the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the area of Lyptsi, Kharkiv region, using an anti-aircraft missile system.” The Ministry did not provide any evidence. 

Following the plane’s downing, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the Kremlin's awareness of the crash but declined to provide further details, stating that an investigation is ongoing. In turn,  Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov acknowledged the incident.

"A transport plane crashed in the Korochansky district. It fell in a field near a populated area. Everyone on board died," he said, on Telegram.

Videos circulating on social media captured the moment the plane went down, followed by an explosion near the village of Yablonovo, located 70km  northeast of Belgorod. The incident occurred around 11:00 local time (08:00 GMT).