A military transport plane Ilyushin-76 carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew, and three escorts crashed this morning in the Belgorod Region, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

"On January 24 this year an Ilyushin-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod Region during a scheduled flight at about 11 a.m. Moscow time (8 a.m. GMT). There were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being moved to the Belgorod Region for an exchange, and three escorts on board," the Defense Ministry statement read.

A panel of inquiry has been dispatched by the Aerospace Force to look into the incident, and a team of investigators and Emergency Ministry personnel are working on the site of the crash.

All those on board the IL-76 military plane that crashed in the Belgorod Region on Wednesday morning died, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel.

MFA statement on the destruction of a Russian Il-76 military transport

January 24, the Kiev regime committed terrorist act by downing a Russian Il-76 military transport plane near the village of Yablonovo in Belgorod Region.

It was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs for an agreed-upon… pic.twitter.com/zkQPqY3cB0

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) January 24, 2024

"In the Korocha district, a transport plane crashed. It fell in a field near a village. All those on board died," Gladkov added.

According to the governor, the crash scene is now cordoned off. All emergency response services are on site. Investigative measures are being taken.

"A panel of inquiry is on the way to probe into the causes," Gladkov added.

The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said after the crash that it intended to "take further steps" aimed at destroying Russian "means of arms delivery."

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed that its staff was not aware of the fact that Russia’s Il-76 was transporting Ukrainian war prisoners for a planned prisoner swap. However, Ukrainian news portal Strana.ua reported that the directorate had confirmed that a prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kiev was to take place on Wednesday.

France refuses to schedule UNSC meeting for Wednesday 

Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy announced that the French presidency has rejected Moscow’s request to call an urgent UN Security Council meeting in the wake of the downing of the jet for Wednesday.

"We have a shocking development in the Security Council today - the French Presidency @franceonu declined our request for an urgent Council meeting … today for 3 pm (20:00 GMT). In a clear attempt to shield their Kiev regime clients it agrees to schedule the meeting only for tomorrow for 5 pm," Polyanskiy said on X.