Zelenskyy demands probe into Russian military plane crash

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is demanding an international investigation into the crash of a large Russian military plane, which Moscow said killed 74 people, including dozens of prisoners of war.

“All clear facts must be established. To the extent possible, given that the aircraft crashed on Russian territory — beyond our control,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening. “‘Facts’ is the key word now.”

Russian state media reported the crash of an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft near the Russian border city of Belgorod on Wednesday. According to Moscow, among the casualties were 65 Ukrainian POWs who were being transported to a prisoner exchange.

But Ukraine was unable to verify that information and is now calling for further investigation into the crash.

“The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating all the circumstances,” Zelenskyy said. “I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to provide our partners with the information available to Ukraine. Our state will insist on an international investigation.”

Russia accused Ukraine of intentionally downing the plane and of knowing that prisoners of war were being transported, without offering further proof.

Ukrainian outlets first reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces downed the plane and that the aircraft could have been carrying missiles, citing an anonymous source. They later partly retracted the information, without claiming responsibility for causing the crash. POLITICO has not been able to independently verify the claims and counter-claims.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence confirmed that a prisoner exchange was supposed to take place that day, but did not occur.

Kyiv is now accusing Moscow of deliberately endangering Ukrainian prisoners by failing to notify Ukraine that they were being transported via the airspace at a specific time and that its forces needed to ensure the security of the airspace near Belgorod.

“This may indicate Russia’s deliberate actions aimed at endangering the lives and safety of prisoners,” Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said. “Landing a transport aircraft in a 30-kilometer war zone cannot be safe and in any case must be discussed by both sides, otherwise it endangers the entire exchange process.”

Ukrainian watchdog Media Initiative for Human Rights said it is currently unable to confirm or deny “any of the versions of the crash,” as further investigations require time and access to Russian territory.

Yet the organization is raising doubts over the Kremlin’s narrative, arguing that the “promptness and coordination” of Russia’s reaction looks “very strange and unusual” and that there are discrepancies in the published list of victims.

“But at the moment, all this is very circumstantial evidence, insufficient to draw conclusions,” head of the initiative Olha Reshetylova said. “We are working and will definitely conduct our own investigation.”

Kyiv and Moscow have conducted multiple prisoner swaps since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.

However, prisoner swaps have become increasingly rare, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of using POWs as a political weapon.

In January, the two sides held the largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s all-out war, swapping hundreds of prisoners after a five-month hiatus.

“It is obvious that the Russians are messing with the lives of Ukrainian captives, the feelings of their relatives, and the emotions of our society,” Zelenskyy said.

This isn’t the first time Ukraine has accused Russia of targeting Ukrainian POWs amid conflicting versions of an attack.

In 2022, Kyiv accused Kremlin forces of shelling a jail in Olenivka, a town in territory controlled by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In turn, Russia accused Ukrainian troops of striking the prison with high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), supplied by the United States.

Veronika Melkozerova contributed reporting.