A military transport plane Ilyushin-76 crashed in the Belgorod Region on Wednesday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three escorts.

"On January 24 this year an Ilyushin-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod Region during a scheduled flight at about 11 a.m. Moscow time (8 a.m. GMT). There were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being moved to the Belgorod Region for an exchange, and three escorts on board," the Defense Ministry said.

The Aerospace Force has dispatched a panel of inquiry to probe into the incident.

Earlier, the governor of the Belgorod Region, said on his Telegram channel the incident occurred in the Korocha district. He did not elaborate. A team of investigators and Emergency Ministry personnel are working at the site of the crash.