Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda initially cited military sources as saying Kyiv had shot down the plane because it was carrying S-300 missiles, but later corrected the story saying that information had not been confirmed by other sources.
Confirmation of a Ukrainian shootdown from Ukrainian media.
Ukraine's GUR military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told the Radio Svoboda outlet that a prisoner exchange had been planned for Wednesday, adding: "It's not taking place at the moment."
Looks like the military sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda was an official AFU statement from the general staff.
I think there's no question that the plane has been downed by Ukraine. The only thing that's not been confirmed is whether the IL-76 was carrying POWs (though, given the fact that it was flying over Belgorod, what else would it be carrying? The IL-76 has the radar cross-section of a whale), but delivery of POWs to Belgorod airport by IL-76 is standard practice according to previous prisoner exchanges.
Telegram is going to be Telegram, but there is a bit of debunking going on there. (... if you even want to call it debunking. Telegram channels are extremely biased and quickly spread rumors, true or not.)
A passenger manifest for the plane was released and supposedly most of the Ukrainians on that list were traded months earlier.
Russians have quarantined the crash site and are not providing proof that Ukrainians were on the plane.
Only one body is shown amid the wreckage area, which is unusual for a plane that was supposed to be filled with prisoners.
That's the current gossip, anyway. If it's true or not, we will not actually know for a bit.
I think a point you aren't emphasizing enough is that Belgorod is less than 80km from Kharkov and the PAC-2 has a range of >160km... So, Belgorod was already under Ukraine's AD umbrella. It doesn't help that the IL-76 isn't stealthy, has no active defence EW capability, and is literally a giant flying boat. It also doesn't help that Belgorod is connected along the South Eastern Railway to Voronezh, which is a major logistics hub in the region. There is no reason an IL-76 should be flying over Belgorod without clearing with Ukrainian AD. Hell, Belgorod is so close to Kharkov that you wouldn't even need a Patriot system: even the IRIS-T system (range 40km+) would be enough given how static the frontline has been there. Belgorod sits in a cauldron.
Everyone is so convinced Russia must be lying that they're not considering what would logically make sense.
IF Ukraine hadn't any idea that their POWs were in that transport,
AND Russian transports are a significant-means of Russia's genociding Ukraine,
THEN automatically targetting Russian transports is right to be doing, in that context.
End. Of. Story.
Shit happens.
Especially in war.
Adding an extra checklist-point to see IF it is possible to discover what's in an enemy transport, while you've got a second-or-2 to shoot it down, .. obliterates scarce opportunity to dent enemy capability.
At least they died quickly, unlike those who died in the Russian torture-chambers, in Russian custody.