Vladimir Putin claims US missile shot down plane carrying Ukrainian ‘prisoners of war’.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed a military aircraft was shot down by an American missile system in Russia.
It comes after an investigation into the Ilyushin Il-76 plane crash that happened last Wednesday, January 24. Putin has now claimed the plane was shot down by the American Patriot defence system.
The II-76 was a Russian military transport plane which Russia says was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners for an exchange. All those on board, including the six crew members and three accompanying Russian Armed Forces officers, died.
Russia initially accused Ukraine of shooting down the aircraft said to be carrying its own soldiers. In response, Ukraine did not confirm whether it had shot down the plane but said it would continue to destroy Russian military aircraft it believed were carrying missiles destined to be launched at Ukraine.