According to a number of ** reports, the Russian side said that the Ukrainian army fired two missiles at an Il-76 transport plane in Russian airspace at an air defense base in Kharkiv Oblast, causing the plane to crash into a village in Belgorod Oblast, and all 74 people on board died, 65 of whom were Ukrainian prisoners of war, which was supposed to be exchanged.
The incident provoked strong repercussions, with the Russian side suspecting that the Ukrainian army had deliberately sabotaged the plan for the exchange of prisoners of war by using American Patriot missiles or German Iris-T missiles. The Russian side said that the Ukrainian side had known in advance that on the 24th, at the "Kolodilovka" checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border, a prisoner exchange would be carried out, but the Ukrainian army launched an attack when the plane was about to arrive, and another Il-76 aircraft carrying 80 prisoners of war changed its course in time to avoid a tragedy.
The Ukrainian side is very unconfident about this accusation. On the one hand, the Ukrainian army immediately announced its "merits" after the plane was shot down, and Ukrainska Pravda quickly reported the news, but later found out that the situation was serious, and quickly deleted the relevant content.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian side did not dare to deny its responsibility, since there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, whose lives were taken by their own compatriots. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine only vaguely said that it could not determine the situation. The Ukrainian intelligence headquarters shirked its responsibility, saying that the Russian side did not inform the Il-76 of the mission and did not request security guarantees. This statement is a hint, "If you don't tell me, blame me."
Ukrainian ** Zelensky also made a statement, but his words were more subtle. He said that the 24th was a "difficult day", he said that the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war were "played" by Russia, and he said that the families of prisoners of war and Ukrainian society were affected. His words were like an admission that the plane was shot down by the Ukrainian army.
The attitude of the Ukrainian side is to do everything possible to make itself look less "guilty". The Russian side asked the UN Security Council to immediately convene a meeting to discuss the incident, but France refused, and France postponed the meeting to the 25th, which made the Russian side feel that this was buying time for Ukraine. On the whole, the United States and Europe should also understand that it was the Ukrainian army that launched a missile and killed a plane of prisoners of war, so they can only continue to delay and let Ukraine think about what to say.