Russia requested that an emergency session of the Council of Security of the UN today, at 15:00 local time (20:00 GMT), after accusing Ukraine of the downing of an Il-76 military transport plane, according to the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, at a press conference at the international organization.

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According to the official version of Moscow, 65 Ukrainian soldiers – prisoners who were to be exchanged for Russian troops captured by kyiv -, three Russian guards and six crew members died in the incident. Lavrov called it “a terrorist attack.”

France, as acting president of the Council, has to respond to this last-minute request.

Asked if he planned to present evidence supporting the Russian thesis before the Council, Lavrov did not respond, but said that he is not worried that his version will be called into question by Western media, which he described as systematically “< b>biased” against Russia.

For now, Ukraine has only acknowledged that an exchange ofprisoners of war was planned, but remains silent about its involvement in the incident.



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