Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that an Il-76 transport plane of the Russian air force carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners, who were being transported for exchange; six crew members; and three accompanying persons crashed in the Belgorod region. The ministry said that the Ukrainian forces downed the plane.
“I don’t have anything to offer on this, unfortunately, and refer you to Ukraine’s [Ministry of Defense] to speak about their operations,” the spokesman said in a statement.
He added that the Pentagon also is not aware of any planned POW swaps between Russia and Ukraine.