Vladimir Putin is being quoted by Russian official media as suggesting that Kyiv was responsible for Tuesday's downing of the Il-76 aircraft.

The president went on to say that it was unclear whether Kyiv deliberately shot down the airliner or not and that a thorough inquiry will be made public in the coming days. 

According to the Russian president, "the missiles that shot down the Il-76 with captured Ukrainian armed forces military personnel were launched from Ukrainian territory," as reported by TASS. 

"I don’t know if they did it on purpose or by mistake, but it is obvious that they did it," he stated. 

It further stated that the president asserted that the attack involved the use of either French or American missiles. 

According to Mr. Putin, the Ukrainian intelligence directorate "knew" that its prisoners of war were on board, according to RIA, another state media agency. 

While Western countries have accused Moscow of deceit, Kyiv has questioned Moscow's story and called for an international probe, while categorically denying it was involved. 

These are the first remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the incident, which happened early on Tuesday over the Russian region of Belgorod.