https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-military-plane-crash-ukraine-prisoners-of-war-belgorod-rcna135411
Russia on Wednesday accused Kyiv of shooting down a military transport plane, killing all 74 people on board including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The flight was on its way to the southern region of Belgorod ahead of a prisoner exchange at the border when it was brought down by a "terrorist act," the Kremlin said.

NBC News could not independently verify who was on board the flight or what caused it to crash. Ukrainian officials cautioned against sharing “unverified information” but did not immediately deny the claims or offer further details.

The neighbors have traded conflicting accusations throughout the war, which is approaching the two-year mark.

The Ilyushin Il-76 was “performing a scheduled flight” to an airfield near the border when it was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile system, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“On board the plane were six crew members, 65 Ukrainian military personnel for the exchange and three Russian military personnel accompanying them. The crew and all passengers of the plane were killed,” the statement said.