Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “playing with the emotions” of the Ukrainian prisoners of war after a Russian military transport plane with 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers was shot down, killing all of them.
“It is clear that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their loved ones and the emotions of our society,” the war-time Ukrainian president said in his evening address.
He said the facts concerned with the plane downed on Russian territory must be presented.
The Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft carrying 74 people – 65 prisoners of war, six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers – was shot down near the Russian city Belgorod, just 40km north of the border with Ukraine on Wednesday.
Photos and videos of the plane crash on social media and Telegram channels show it dwindled down after an explosion near Yablonovo village in the northeast Belgorod at 11am yesterday.
The Ukrainian military accused Russia of putting the lives of its prisoners of war at risk, adding that they had not been informed by Russia to ensure providing a safe airspace over Belgorod – a territory witnessing heavy aerial attacks in the past year.