Kyiv reiterated it received neither a written nor verbal request from Russia to secure airspace around the area of Belgorod where a Russian military transport plane crashed, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Radio Svoboda.

Russia said the Ilyushin Il-76 military plane was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers. Yusov said Kyiv does not have enough evidence to believe that.

"Unfortunately, we can assume various scenarios, including provocation, as well as the use of Ukrainian prisoners as a human shield for transporting ammunition and weapons for S-300 systems," he said.