Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelensky cancels trip after Russian plane crash kills Ukrainian prisoners

Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of shooting down a military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange.

Ukraine‘s military General Staff, without saying whether it downed the plane or not, said in a statement it would continue to destroy Russian military aircraft which it believed were carrying missiles with which to strike Ukraine.

Here’s a summary of what we know so far.

The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-76, a large military transport plane designed to carry troops, cargo or weapons. Russia said that beside the 65 Ukrainian POWs there were six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers on board.

The plane crashed in a huge fireball, killing all 74 people on board, the Russian defence ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled a regional trip and events linked to his birthday pending clarification of the crash of a Russian aircraft over the border in Belgorod region, the RBK Ukraine news outlet reported on Wednesday.

RBK quoted a source in the president’s office and in regional administrations, but gave no further details.

Zelensky has not yet commented on the incident involving a Russian Il-76 military transport. Russian officials said the plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war due to take part in a swap.

A drone attack on Ukraine‘s Black Sea port of Odesa on Wednesday injured one person and started a fire, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.

Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the attack had damaged housing in the city. There were no further details on the extent of the damage.

The governor subsequently declared an end to the air raid alert for Odesa region.

A mid-afternoon Russian missile strike on a town near the front line in Ukraine killed two people, injured eight and caused widespread damage, Ukrainian officials said.

The governor of Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said on Telegram that the missile hit a dwelling in the town of Hirnyk. Pictures posted online showed several buildings reduced to rubble.

Filashkin said apartment blocks and more than 40 private homes were damaged and he urged residents to evacuate to more secure areas. Ukraine‘s Emergency Services said one body was recovered from under rubble.

Hirnyk lies to the northwest of Maryinka, a town still held by Ukraine but all but destroyed after many months of fighting with Russian forces.

To mark the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine breaking out, The Independent is bringing together a panel of experts who have been at the forefront of the coverage of the conflict.

Two years have passed since Russia invaded its European neighbour and the war has left Ukraine and its people in a state of utter devastation.

Our panel will be looking back at some of the key moments from the past two years, as well as looking ahead to what is likely to happen next and if any future resolution is in sight.

Bel Trew, The Independent’s award-winning chief international correspondent, photographer and documentary filmmaker, will be hosting the discussion, which is part of The Independent’s Virtual Events series.

Across multiple trips since the start of Russia’s invasion, Bel has been charting the devastating impact of the war on people all over Ukraine.

A US Senate committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would help set the stage for the United States to confiscate Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine for rebuilding after the destruction of the nearly two-year-long war.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 20 to 1 in favor of the unprecedented “Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act.”

If it were to pass the full Senate and House of Representatives and be signed into law by President Joe Biden, the act would pave the way for Washington’s first-ever seizure of central bank assets from a country with which it is not at war.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is set to hold a news conference at the United Nations in the next few minutes.

This comes after a military transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia, with Moscow saying 65 prisoners of war and nine others on board were killed, and accusing Ukraine of shooting it down.

He was scheduled to speak this afternoon anyway, but if he takes questions, it is likely discussion will turn to the crash.

Russian claims that 56 Ukrainian prisoners of war were onboard a military plane that crashed over Russian airspace is likely disinformation, a former intelligence officer said.

Philip Ingram, former British Army intelligence officer, told The Independent: “It is likely disinformation. I would expect the Russians to claim Ukrainian prisoners were on the downed aircraft to try and get something out of what is a very embarrassing incident.

“Russia has lost control of the skies not just in the areas it occupies in Ukraine, but it seems over large parts of Russia as well.”

Slovakia’s Russia-friendly prime minister has made an unexpected U-turn on Ukraine, pledging support on his first trip to the war-torn country only days after questioning Ukrainian sovereignty.

Robert Fico, who came to office in October after campaigning to sever his nation’s military aid to Kyiv and oppose further sanctions against Russia, on Wednesday met his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal in the city of Uzhhorod, near the Slovak border.

Mr Fico claimed there were only “minor” political differences with Kyiv, which were part of “political life”, adding: “We really want to assist you, we really want to help you.”

A planned prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia has been cancelled, an official from Kyiv’s Main Directorate of Intelligence has said.

Andrii Yusov told Ukrainian news outlet Radio Liberty the exchange is “currently not taking place”.

It comes after Russia claimed 65 Ukrainian armed forces personnel had died after a military transport plane crashed in Belgorod this morning.

Ukraine has urged people not to spread the unverified information.