Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, whether on purpose or by mistake.
Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 plane in Russia's Belgorod region on Wednesday and killing 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian prisoners of war. It has not presented evidence.
Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it shot down the plane and has challenged Moscow's account of who was on board and what happened.