2024-02-02 05:33:00
The Ukrainian authorities approached Russia regarding the return of the bodies of prisoners of war, who, according to Moscow, died as a result of the Il-76 crash in the Belgorod region, but the Russian side did not react to this. Representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andrey Yusov stated this during the telethon.
“Regarding the information regarding the death, yes, Ukraine has applied and continues to apply for the transfer of bodies. So far the Russian side is not agreeing to this. Therefore, the demand of our state remains relevant to conduct an impartial international investigation not only into the circumstances of the crash of the Il-76 plane, but what was actually inside – whether there were people there, whether there was ammunition there, who was there, except for the crew,” he is quoted as saying by “ Ukrainian truth.”
Yusov noted that the status of the 65 Ukrainian soldiers whom the Russian Ministry of Defense declared dead has not changed – they are still considered prisoners of war.
The GUR representative added that the large-scale exchange of prisoners of war that took place between Russia and Ukraine on January 31 was “almost the completion” of the disrupted operation on the day of the Il-76 crash.
According to Yusov, as part of the exchange, the Ukrainians who were supposed to be exchanged on January 24 returned home – with the exception of 65 people from the list of those who, according to the Russian side, were on board the crashed plane.
Updated. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated RIA Novosti that the presidential administration has not received any requests from Kyiv asking for the transfer of the bodies of prisoners of war who died in the Il-76 crash.
A Russian military transport aircraft Il-76 crashed near the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region on January 24. No one survived the crash. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the plane who were being transported for exchange, and blamed Ukraine for the crash. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case regarding the terrorist attack and stated that it had already identified the remains of all the victims.
Ukrainian intelligence confirmed plans for the exchange, but said they were not “informed of the need to ensure airspace security” in the Belgorod area and might not yet reliably say who was on board.
Shortly following the crash, RT editor-in-chief and propagandist Margarita Simonyan published a list of prisoners allegedly on board the Il-76. Later, the Ukrainian coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war confirmed the authenticity of the list.
On January 31, Vladimir Putin said that the Il-76 was shot down by an American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces might have shot down the plane through negligence.
On the same day, the first exchange of prisoners took place between Russia and Ukraine following the crash according to the “195 to 195” formula. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky wrote in his telegram channel regarding the return of 207 people, including civilians. There were no prisoners of war from the “Simonyan list” among those who returned to Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence said.
1706864306
#Kyiv #asked #Moscow #hand #bodies #killed #Il76 #crash #received #response #Meduza
