Russia’s defence ministry has accused Ukrainian forces of shooting down a military transport plane, killing all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being swapped.

The POWs were being transported to Russia’s Belgorod region, the ministry said.

Ukrainian officials did not comment on the crash and The Associated Press could not confirm who was on board. Officials in Kyiv cautioned against sharing unverified information.

In addition to the 65 POWs, the Il-76 transport carried a crew of six and three other passengers, the ministry said.

According to the statement, Russian radar registered the launch of two Ukrainian missiles from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region bordering Belgorod.

The ministry called the attack “a terrorist act”.