Key Takeaways
- Russia calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting after downing of plane.
- The plane was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers, three Russian officers, and six crew members.
- The meeting has not been scheduled accordingly, as requested by Russia.
United Nations: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after the downing of a Russian plane carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers.
Lavrov spoke at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, where he requested a meeting for 3 p.m. Wednesday New York Time (2000 GMT). However, the meeting schedule has not been updated.
Lavrov said a Russian IL-76 transport aircraft was downed with 65 captured Ukrainian military servicemen on board together with three Russian officers and six crew members. All people on board the plane died as a result of what he said a terrorist attack by Ukraine.
Lavrov said an air defense missile launched by Ukraine from the Kharkiv region downed the plane in the Belgorod region. The IL-76 was carrying the 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers from Moscow to Belgorod for a prisoner-of-war swap that had been agreed on between Moscow and Kiev.
