Social media footage shows the plane nosediving and shedding parts before the crash. Images from the crash site, posted on Telegram, depict debris scattered across a field.
“This is new, fresh information; we will be looking into it,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state media.
The Belgorod regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, earlier said there was “an incident.” He later confirmed that there were no survivors of the wreck.
“The investigative team and emergency services personnel are working on the scene. I’ve changed my work schedule, and I am heading to the area,” he added.
The crash followed an alert about a possible incoming missile issued by Belgorod authorities an hour earlier. The alert was retracted 30 minutes later.
“Today, January 24, the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine was supposed to take place,” Andrii Yusov, a Ukrainian military intelligence official, told Radio Liberty. “I can state that the exchange planned for today is currently not taking place,” he said.
