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Russia said an Il-76 transport aircraft crashed — and that it was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
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Some Ukrainian outlets reported that Ukraine downed the plane, and that it had missiles aboard, rather than prisoners.
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Those reports were then edited to remove reference to Ukraine taking responsibility.
Russia said one of its transport aircraft crashed with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.
Early reports from Ukrainian sites presenting events differently were edited after the fact.
At least two outlets — Ukrainian Pravda and Ukraine-RBC — posted articles saying Ukraine had shot down the planes, citing military sources.
Those articles also said the aircraft was carrying valuable S-300 missiles for Russia’s air defense, and made no mention of the possibility that Ukrainian lives were lost.
Russia’s defense ministry said that the plane, an Il-76 cargo vessel, had 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three escorts on board when it crashed, per state media.
Footage spread on Telegram appearing to show the crash, in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine.
Russia’s claim has not been independently verified.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said on Telegram an emergency response was underway.
An early report on the crash by the outlet Ukrainian Pravda cited a Ukrianian defense source calling the shootdown “our work.” An archived version is still available.
RBC-Ukraine reported similar details, per an archived report.
Both Pravda and RBC altered their reports later on Wednesday to remove those details.
Pravda included a public correction attributing the difference to a problem with its sourcing.
A later, public comment by Ukraine’s defense ministry, given to the state outlet Suspilne, said it was working to clarify what happened.
Read the original article on Business Insider