Russia requests emergency U.N. Security Council meeting after military plane crash

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting after a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft crashed in the Korochansky District of Russia’s Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, reports Russian state news agency Interfax.

The Russian side “very much expects that the French presidency [of the U.N. Security Council] will fulfill its responsibilities in good faith and schedule such a meeting as soon as possible.” According to Lavrov, if the meeting is scheduled, it would take place at 3:00 p.m. New York time.

Lavrov repeated the Russian military’s previous statements, claiming that the downed aircraft was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs for a planned prisoner exchange.

“Instead of this exchange taking place, the Ukrainian side launched an anti-aircraft missile strike on this plane from a district in the Kharkiv region, which was fatal,” Lavrov said.

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