Ukraine shot down the plane, pursuing the goal of blaming Russia for the murder of the Ukrainian prisoners of war, the MoD said, adding that the prisoner exchange was meant to take place in the afternoon at the Kolotilovka checkpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian border. Ukraine was well aware that prisoners would be transported by this plane to the Belgorod airfield in line with the established practice.
Following the tragic news, Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov said that another Il-76 was flying next to the crashed aircraft with 80 prisoners of war on board; the plane was turned around. Meanwhile, the "Il" was shot down by three Patriot (US) or Iris-T (Germany) missiles.
Tremendous Heroism of Doomed Il-76 Crew
“Not only did they see and feel that their plane was falling apart – according to eyewitnesses it was falling apart in the air, but at that moment they were able to reduce the number of victims. The courage and professionalism of our crew is worthy of high praise,” he noted.