UPDATE - Putin says Russian military plane downed by US-made Patriot missile

REVISES HEADLINE, ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM PUTIN

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that a Il-76 military cargo plane carrying captured Ukrainian servicemen was shot down a week ago in Russia’s Belgorod region by a US-made Patriot missile.

“The plane was shot down -- this has already been established for sure -- by the American Patriot (air defense) system. An examination has already established this,” Putin said during a meeting in Moscow.

Stressing that Russia insists on holding an international investigation into the crash, Putin said he did not understand why Ukraine downed the plane.

“The Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down our Il-76 plane, which was carrying 65 of their own servicemen intended for (a prisoner) exchange. You asked why they did this. I don’t know. I don’t understand,” he said.

"It can be assumed that they did it by accident. It's a crime anyway. If this is the case, then it is a crime of negligence. There is such a legal term," he noted.

Putin invited international experts to come to Russia to study the evidence, regretting that so far, no international organization has volunteered to do so.

Russia is not going to stop prisoner exchanges with Ukraine, he said.

" We will still exchange our guys, if the Ukrainian side is ready, of course. And they are still giving us a signal that they are ready."

Turning to the situation in the battle zone, Putin said the demilitarized zone in Ukraine should be located at such a distance from the borders of Russia that Western long-range weapons cannot reach its territory.

He said that one of the hottest spots in the battlefield right now is the area around the city of Avdiivka.

Last Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of shooting down a plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen for a prisoner exchange.

The crew and all of the passengers on board were killed, it said, calling it "a terrorist attack" mounted to accuse Russia of killing Ukrainian servicemen.

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence agency said the incident could be a “planned and deliberate” action by Moscow to destabilize the situation. Later it confirmed the veracity of the list of war prisoners published by Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will insist on an international investigation into the crash.