Russian Aircraft With 65 Ukrainian Prisoners Crashes

On Wednesday, a Russian Il-76 transport aircraft with 65 Ukrainian prisoners on board crashed in the Belgorod region.

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"At about 11:00 Moscow time, an IL-76 plane crashed in Belgorod during a scheduled flight. There were 65 captured servicemen of the Ukraine armed forces on board," Sputnik news agency reported.

Others onboard included six aircraft crew members and three accompanying persons. A Russian air forces commission flew to the crash site to establish the cause of the disaster.

The Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said he believes the Ukrainian military shot down the plane.

He instructed lawmakers to prepare an appeal to the U.S. Congress and Germany's Bundestag in connection with the plane crash to show foreign governments how Kiev is using their military assistance.

"There is a proposal to investigate what missiles and launchers were used. Let's prepare an appeal to the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag so that lawmakers can finally see who they are funding and helping," Volodin said.

"They shot their own soldiers in the air. Their mothers, wives and children were waiting... the pilots of our military transport aircraft, who were carrying out a humanitarian mission, were shot at...with U.S. and German missiles," he added.