MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. The Kiev government will insist on an international investigation into the downing of the Il-76 plane, shot down by the Ukrainian military above Russia’s borderline region of Belgorod, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel.

The president said he had held emergency meetings with the top brass of the Ukrainian armed forces, the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Justice Ministry.

"We need to establish all clear facts, as many as possible, provided that the plane crashed on the Russian territory, beyond our zone of control," Zelensky said. "I instructed thte foreign minister of Ukraine to convey the information that we have to our partners. Our country will insist on an international investigation."

Initially, Ukrainian media reported, citing sources in the country’s Defense Ministry, that the plane was transporting missiles for S-300 air defense systems and was downed by the Air Force of Ukraine. However, after the Russian Defense Ministry said that the plane was transporting 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen to the Belgorod Region for a subsequent swap with Ukraine, all media outlets removed all reports pointing at Kiev’s involvement. At the same time, France, which holds the rotating UN Security Council presidency this month, turned down Russia’s request to hold an urgent meeting on the issue on January 24. In an apparent attempt to give Ukraine more time for making up a plausible explanation, the event was scheduled for the evening of January 25.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on January 24, that the Ukrainian armed forces allegedly shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport plane over the Belgorod Region that was carrying captured Ukrainian troops selected to be included in the exchange. There were 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian military personnel, all of whom were killed.

The Russian Defense Ministry called what happened a terrorist act and stressed that Kiev knew about the transportation of prisoners for the exchange, which was to take place at the Kolotilovka checkpoint, and purposely attacked the plane in order to accuse Moscow of destroying Ukrainian military personnel. It also said that the plane was shot down with an anti-aircraft missile system located near Liptsy in the Kharkov Region.