Russian President Vladimir Putin said a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine on Wednesday was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, whether on purpose or by mistake.
Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 plane in Russia's Belgorod region, killing 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian PoWs. Ukraine has not confirmed or denied whether it shot down the plane and has challenged Moscow's account of what happened and who was on the plane.
Putin said the results of Russia's investigation would be published in two to three days, but preliminary results suggested the missiles that downed the plane were American or French.