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Russia's Defense Ministry connected Wednesday accused Ukrainian forces of shooting down a subject transport plane, sidesplitting each 74 radical aboard, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of warfare being swapped.
Ukrainian officials did not remark connected the clang successful Russia's Belgorod borderline region, and The Associated Press could not corroborate who was aboard oregon different details connected what brought the level down. Officials successful Kyiv cautioned against sharing unverified information.
In summation to the 65 POWs, the Il-76 transport carried a unit of six and 3 different passengers, the Russian subject said. According to the statement, Russian radar registered the motorboat of 2 Ukrainian missiles from Ukraine's Kharkiv portion bordering Belgorod. The ministry called the onslaught "a violent act."
Video of the clang posted connected societal media showed a level falling from the entity successful a snowy, agrarian area, and a monolithic shot of occurrence erupting wherever it seemingly deed the ground.
Firefighters, ambulances and constabulary rushed to the tract successful the Korochansky territory of Belgorod, authorities quality bureau Tass reported, citing a section exigency services official.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the POWs were being transported to the portion for a captive speech erstwhile the level was downed astatine 11:15 a.m. section clip (0815 GMT, 3:15 a.m. EST).
The level was en way to the Belgorod portion from the Chkalovsky aerial tract successful the Moscow portion surrounding the Russian capital, and the POW swap was scheduled to instrumentality spot aboriginal Wednesday astatine the Kolotilovka crossing connected the Russian-Ukrainian border, the connection read.
Russia has mostly ensured its aerial dominance during the war, which marked its 700th time connected Wednesday, against Ukraine's fleet of Soviet-era warplanes. But the Russian aerial forcehas suffered a drawstring of crashes that immoderate observers person attributed to a higher fig of flights amid the warring successful Ukraine.
At the aforesaid time, Kyiv has boasted precocious astir shooting down 2 Russian bid and power planes, which would beryllium a large feat for Ukraine if true. Cross-border attacks connected Russia's Belgorod portion besides person been ramped up lately, with the deadliest 1 sidesplitting 21 radical successful precocious December.
Shortly earlier the crash, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said connected his Telegram transmission that a "missile alert" had been triggered successful the portion and warned residents to instrumentality shelter.
Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said it was looking into the clang but did not instantly supply immoderate information. Instead, it cautioned against sharing "unverified information."
"We stress that the force is actively conducting accusation peculiar operations against Ukraine aimed astatine destabilizing Ukrainian society," it said successful a connection connected Telegram.
The Russian Defense Ministry said a peculiar subject committee was connected the mode to the clang site.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said connected his telephone with reporters that helium could not remark connected the clang due to the fact that helium did not person capable accusation astir it.
The Il-76 is designed to transportation up to 225 troops, cargo, subject instrumentality and weapons, according to Russia's subject export agency.
The war's 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) beforehand enactment has been mostly static amid a 2nd wintertime of fighting. As some sides question to replenish their weapons stockpiles, the warfare precocious has focused connected long-range strikes.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a large Russian rocket onslaught connected Tuesday had killed 18 radical and injured 130.
The barrage, employing much than 40 ballistic, cruise, anti-aircraft and guided missiles deed 130 residential buildings successful 3 Ukrainian cities, "all mean houses," Zelenskyy said connected X, formerly Twitter.
Russia's onslaught, which included targets successful the superior Kyiv and second-largest metropolis Kharkiv, was the heaviest successful weeks and lent value to Zelenskyy's appeals for Western allies to supply much subject aid.
"This year, the main precedence is to fortify aerial defence to support our cities and towns, arsenic good arsenic support front-line positions," Zelenskyy posted precocious Tuesday.
Analysts accidental Russia stockpiled missiles to prosecute a wintertime of aerial bombardment, portion Ukraine has sought to onslaught wrong Russia with caller types of drones.
Russia whitethorn person employed decoy missiles successful Tuesday's onslaught successful an effort to unfastened up holes successful Ukraine's aerial defenses, a U.S. deliberation vessel said.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Moscow is apt trying to get much ballistic missiles from overseas countries, including Iran and North Korea, due to the fact that they whitethorn beryllium much effectual successful immoderate circumstances.
A further barrage of Russian S-300 missiles struck residential districts of Kharkiv precocious Tuesday, injuring 9 radical and damaging residential buildings, determination Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.
Russia denies its forces onslaught civilian areas, though determination is important grounds to the contrary.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that aerial defenses changeable down 4 Ukrainian drones implicit the Oryol portion of occidental Russia aboriginal Wednesday.
Oryol Mayor Yuri Parakhin said that respective drones were downed implicit the city. He said determination were nary casualties, but windows were shattered successful flat buildings.
Another Ukrainian drone was downed aboriginal Wednesday implicit the Belgorod borderline region, according to Gladkov. He said determination were nary casualties oregon damage.
Ukraine's allies person promised to support sending subject assistance packages, adjacent though their resources are stretched. Help from the United States, by acold Ukraine's azygous biggest provider, has besides deed governmental snags.
The German defence ministry announced Wednesday that it plans to nonstop six Sea King Mk41 helicopters to Ukraine.
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