 Russian President Vladimir Putin also touched upon the military operation in Ukraine during a meeting with his representatives ahead of the presidential election. Putin said that the front line should be moved a little further. The goal is to prevent Ukraine's Western-provided long-range missile launchers and drones from striking the Russian territory. Putin said that in this way, Russian cities would be protected from Ukrainian drones. He thereby announced the start of larger-scale attacks. Commenting on the downing of the Russian Il-76 military cargo plane in the territory of Belgorod region, Putin said that Kiev might have hit it by mistake, adding that the incident still amounted to a crime and called on international institutions to investigate it comprehensively. He said that the plane was shot down by the US-made Patriot system. It should be noted that more than 70 people died as a result of the plane crash. More than 65 were Ukrainian hostages brought to Belgorod to be exchanged. The Russian president said that the exchange of prisoners would continue.