US Officials Privately Confirm Patriot Missile Shot Down Russian Il-76 Plane - Reports

US officials privately confirm the accuracy of media reports that Ukraine used a US-made Patriot system to shoot down the Russian Il-76 plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Belgorod region, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

While US officials are still not planning to publicly say what downed the plane, they confirm on the condition of anonymity that initial reports that a Patriot missile was used by Ukraine were accurate, the report said.