A Russian military plane carrying 74 people crashed in the Belgorod region

CNN
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A Russian military plane carrying 74 people crashed in the Belgorod border region, officials said, according to media reports.

Russian news agencies, citing the Ministry of Defense, said that 65 Ukrainian soldiers were on board the plane and were flown to Belgorod before the prisoner exchange. CNN cannot independently verify this claim.

Six crew members and three “accompanying personnel” were on board the IL-76 cargo plane. No information has yet been published about the cause of the accident.

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The Kremlin refused to comment on the reported incident. “This is completely new information, and we will deal with it now,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “I can't say anything yet.”

“An investigation team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are currently working at the scene,” Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. I changed my work schedule and went to the area. All details later.”

Gladkov said that the “accident” occurred in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region, northeast of the city of Belgorod.

The border city of Belgorod was the site of one of these cities The most violent Ukrainian attacks On Russian soil late last year. At least 24 people were killed, including three children, and 108 others were injured in the attacks that sparked retaliatory Russian strikes on the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.

The plane crash comes as Russia's war in Ukraine is set to enter its third year, with little progress on the battlefield by either side in recent months. Western intelligence assessments warning It is possible that this movement on the battlefield will suffer further stagnation this year.

Kiev and Moscow exchanged prisoners of war throughout the conflict. The biggest swap came earlier in January, when both sides… More than 200 prisoners were exchanged.

This is a developing story and will be updated.