Kiev, 25 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international investigation into the crash of a Russian military aircraft in the Belgorod border region.

The Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR is currently trying to find out more about the fate of the dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who, according to Moscow, were on board the plane, Zelensky said in his evening address on Wednesday.

He also instructed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to provide foreign partners with all information available to Ukraine.

"Our state will insist on international reconnaissance," he said. "It is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their relatives and with the emotions of our society."

An Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft crashed in the Belgorod region of western Russia at midday. According to Russian reports, all 74 people on board were killed - including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. However, there is still no independent information on who or what the aircraft was carrying.

The Ukrainian side only confirmed that an exchange of prisoners had been planned, but was then cancelled. Ukraine accuses Russia of not having informed it that Belgorod airspace should have been specially protected in the course of the prisoner exchange.