Moscow, 24 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) - A Russian military transport plane carrying more than 70 people has crashed over the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said on Wednesday.

There were nine Russian crew members and 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, the TASS state news agency reported.

The prisoners were apparently being flown for an exchange with Ukraine. There was initially no other confirmation of this information.

In Kiev, the news portal Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth) cited military sources as saying that the Ukrainian side had confirmed the crash.

According to information from the General Staff, the aircraft was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to the front line.

Originally, Ukrainska Pravda had also reported that the Ukrainian military had spoken of the aircraft being shot down. This version was then changed.

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for almost two years: Wednesday marks the 700th day of war.