MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. There is an evident need for an international investigation into the numerous crimes of the Kiev regime, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Commenting on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s plans "to initiate an international investigation" into the crash of a Russian Il-76 military transport airplane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were slated to be exchanged in a rare swap, Peskov said: "If he means an international investigation into the crimes of the Kiev regime, then there is definitely an unambiguous need to initiate one."

In response to a question as to whether Moscow could somehow explain Kiev’s ruthlessly cynical move of shooting down a Russian aircraft that had its own service members on board who were about to be released in a prisoner exchange, the Russian presidential spokesman suggested that reporters call the Ukrainian presidential administration and pose the question directly to them.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian armed forces shot down the Il-76 plane using an anti-aircraft missile system stationed near the village of Liptsy in the Kharkov Region. Russian radars detected the launch of two Ukrainian missiles at the time of the incident.