UK Behind Attack on Russian IL-76 With Ukrainian POWs - Source

On January 24, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down a Russian Air Force Il-76 military transport plane over the Belgorod region that was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners set for exchange.

Kiev's British advisers are responsible for the deaths of the POWs and the crew of the Il-76 transport plane, which was shot down by a Ukrainian missile, an informed source familiar with the situation has told Sputnik.

"The attack on the Il-76 was carried out under pressure from British advisers without coordination with the air defense headquarters in Kiev and without additional double-checking of information on aircraft movements over the Belgorod region," the source said.

Six Russian crew members, three Russian servicemen, and 65 Ukrainian POWs on board the airplane were killed after a missile hit the Il-76 over the Belgorod Region on January 24. The aircraft was en route for a planned prisoner exchange that was subsequently canceled.

The Russian Investigative Committee said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used a MIM-104A guided missile fired from a Patriot system to shoot down the plane.

Vladimir Putin called the attack a crime by the Kiev regime against its own citizens. According to him, the Ukrainian side knew there were POWs from the Ukrainian Armed Forces on board, but still attacked it. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the plane crash raises a big question about the possibility of any agreements with Kiev.