Kyiv has opened a criminal complaint into the crash of a Russian military plane after Moscow accused Ukraine of downing the aircraft which was allegedly carrying dozens of PoWs.
Kyiv did not directly confirm it had shot down the Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane, which was downed near the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border on Wednesday. It did not confirm that Ukrainian prisoners were on board.
It comes after Vladimir Putin was accused of playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners and their families after he claimed the plane was downed by Kyiv.
“The Security Service of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings into the crash of the Russian Aerospace Forces Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region,” it said.
Volodymyr Zelensky said it was clear the Kremlin was deliberately playing with the emotions of Ukrainians after it claimed 65 PoWs died in a plane crash.
It comes as Nato began its largest war drills in nearly 40 years in a a move designed to show the “unity” and “strength” of the Western alliance.