Ukrainian war, military plane crashes in Belgorod: Moscow-Kiev exchange of accusations. LIVE

The United States is unable to confirm reports that a Russian Il-76 military transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. The coordinator of the National Security Council, John Kirby, said this in a briefing, according to the Ukrinform correspondent. “We have seen the reports, but we are not in a position to confirm them,” he said, when asked to comment on Russia’s claims that Ukraine shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. Kirby also added that the United States is doing its best to try to obtain more clarity and more information on the crash of the Russian plane. According to Russian Telegram channels, the Il-76 plane, used to transport equipment and troops, crashed in the Belgorod region today. Russian media reported that there were 63 people on board the plane and that they all died. Ukrainian Armed Forces sources said that this plane was carrying a batch of S-300 air defense missiles. The Russian army uses these missiles for massive bombing of the Kharkiv region and other Ukrainian regions bordering Russia. At the same time, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that an exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia was planned for January 24, but this did not happen. Subsequently, the intelligence agency added that, as part of the preparations for the prisoner exchange, Russia did not inform Ukraine about the need to ensure the security of airspace in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe city of Belgorod in a certain period of time, as has been done several times in the past. This could be a sign of Russia’s deliberate actions aimed at creating a threat to the lives and safety of prisoners of war.