Senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, on Thursday (January 25).
"In conditions of modern communication systems upon receiving this information there should have been a command 'air-stop' sent through the specific area and everything would have been as normal. Obviously that didn't happen. Instead, the command was sent to open fire and the plane with our crew and their servicemen who would now never return home, was shot down. That is, the current Kyiv regime has the blood of their soldiers and officers on their hands."
Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 plane in Russia's Belgorod region, killing all 74 people on board.
65 of those were captured Ukrainian soldiers, it says, en route to be swapped for Russian POWs.
The incident is the deadliest of its kind to take place on Russia's internationally recognized territory.
Kartapolov's assertion contradicts a statement by Ukrainian military intelligence that Russia had not informed it about the flight arrangements.
Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it shot down the plane, but has demanded an international investigation.
It does, though, accuse Russia of using its air defense systems in the region when the plane crashed.
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov reiterated that Kyiv hadn't been asked by Russia to refrain from attacks in the airspace where the plane was downed.
"There was no mention yesterday of Belgorod airport as an object that was supposed to be used during the preparation of this exchange."
Moscow has cast the downing of the plane as a Ukrainian "terrorist act."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that clarity about what happened was needed.
"It is evident that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their families, and with the emotions of our society. It is necessary to establish all clear facts, to the extent possible, considering that the plane crash occurred on Russian territory - beyond our control."
Russia has sole access to the site of the crash.
Citing Russia's emergency services, state news agency TASS said fragments of what appears to be a missile have been found at the crash site near the border with Ukraine.
It also added that the plane's black boxes had been recovered and would be flown to Moscow for examination.
Conflicting narratives from both sides have become a daily feature of the war in Ukraine, which is now nearing the end of its second year.
