Russia recovers black boxes from crashed military plane

The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder from the Il-76 military aircraft that crashed in Russia’s Belgorod region on Wednesday have been found at the crash site, Russian state media reported on Thursday, citing an emergency services official.

According to the source, the black boxes were found in the tail section of the aircraft and have already been given to investigators.

Russia has accused Ukraine of downing the aircraft, which it says was transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs to a prisoner exchange site. Ukraine has not confirmed or denied these allegations. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate confirmed that a prisoner swap was scheduled for the day of the crash but said Ukraine was “not informed about the number of transport means, routes, and the way the prisoners would be delivered.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday evening that Ukraine will “insist on an international investigation” into the incident.