Russia says ‘no survivors’ in crash of plane reportedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war

A Russian military plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war for a prisoner exchange on Wednesday crashed in Russia’s Belgorod region, near the Ukraine border, Russian state-run media site TASS reported.

All on board the plane have died, according to Russian authorities.

Russian authorities accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane and deliberately sabotaging the planned prisoner exchange, Reuters reported. Ukraine has not yet commented on Moscow’s allegations, but warned against spreading misinformation, Sky News reported.

A defense expert told Sky he believed it “unlikely” that the plane was actually carrying prisoners of war. The plane involved was an expensive model, he noted, adding that transferring POWs with it would be like “using a helicopter to go shopping.”