KALININGRAD. Jan 25 (Interfax) - The Russian side gave Kiev prior notice that there would be prisoners of war (POWs) aboard the Ilyushin Il-76 plane that was later shot down by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Belgorod region, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
Russian representatives talked about "sending messages in good time" on that score, Peskov said.
He said that Russia had given representatives of Ukrainian intelligence timely notice of the need to ensure air safety in the area around Belgorod, Izvestia said.
He was commenting on the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's claim that Kiev did not know who was on board the plane, the Izvestia newspaper said.
The black boxes have been found and "traces of shrapnel discovered on the remnants of the fuselage," Peskov said.
"Accordingly, investigators will now determine the type of shrapnel [and] what type of weapon it belongs to," he said.