Military plane crash confirmed by Russian Defense Ministry

The crash of a military aircraft this morning in the Belgorod region has been verified by the Russian Ministry of Defense. 

According to the statement, the Ilyushin Il-76 was operating a scheduled flight at the time and was transporting 65 "captured Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel". 

"They were being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange," it continued. 

There were three additional passengers and an additional six crew members on board. 

A "Russian Aerospace Forces commission has already flown to the crash site in order to establish the causes of the disaster," according to a release from the defense department. 

A region near the border between Russia and Ukraine, Belgorod, has seen multiple attacks in recent months. 

A military transport plane has crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia, with Moscow saying 65 prisoners of war and nine others were on board.The spokesman for Vladimir Putin has been questioned recently over the Belgorod plane crash. 

A reporter questioned Dmitry Peskov about if the Russian president was aware of the Il-76 tragedy. 

"This is quite new, fresh information," he stated. 

"We will now resolve the issue. I'm not sure what to say yet. 

The flight included 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members, and three companions at the time of the incident, according to confirmation from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to Russian parliament member Andrei Kartapolov, three missiles brought down the aircraft.