The Russian Ministry of Defense accuses Ukraine of downing a plane in the Belgorod area

The downing of an Ilyushin-76 transport plane in the Belgorod region on Wednesday was attributed by Russia's defense ministry to Ukraine, which claimed to have used an anti-aircraft missile system.

Regarding Moscow's allegations, which Russian officials have been citing ever since the crash became public, Kyiv has not responded as of yet.

The Defense Ministry of Russia's latest statement states, "Today, at 11:15 a.m., the Kyiv regime committed a terrorist act as a result of which a Russian military transport aircraft was shot down, flying along the route Chkalovsky-Belgorod airfield to transport Ukrainian military personnel for exchange."

"The plane was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the area of Liptsy, Kharkiv region, using an anti-aircraft missile system," said the ministry. "The radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles."