The Main Directorate of Intelligence officially confirms the information that today, January 24, the exchange of prisoners was supposed to take place, but it did not happen.
According to the Russian side, the exchange broke down due to the downing of the Russian Il-76 plane, which was allegedly transporting Ukrainian prisoners.
"At the moment, we do not have reliable and comprehensive information about who exactly was on board the plane and in what number," the GUR stressed.
For its part, Ukraine has fulfilled all agreements for the preparation of the exchange. Russian captured servicemen were delivered on time to the designated exchange point, where they were kept safe.
"The security of our defenders, according to the agreements, had to be ensured by the Russian side. At the same time, the Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to ensure the safety of the airspace in the area of the city of Belgorod in a certain period of time, as was done repeatedly in the past," added the intelligence.
Ukraine was not informed about the number of vehicles, the routes and the way the prisoners were delivered. It is known that prisoners are delivered by air, rail and road transport.
This may indicate deliberate actions by Russia, aimed at creating a threat to the lives and safety of prisoners, the GUR of the Ministry of Defense suggests.
"The landing of a transport plane in the 30-kilometer zone of hostilities cannot be safe and in any case must be discussed by both sides, because otherwise it endangers the entire exchange process. Based on this, it may be about planned and deliberate actions of the Russian Federation to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for our state," the intelligence agency summarized.
What is known about the downing of Il-76
According to preliminary data, the Il-76 plane crashed in the Korochan district of the Belgorod region. Russian Telegram channels wrote that there were 63 people on board. "Ukrainian Pravda" with reference to its sources reported that the plane was transporting missiles to the S-300 complexes with which the Russians are shelling the Kharkiv region. The General Staff indirectly confirmed that the downing of the plane was the work of the Armed Forces, and on board this plane there were exactly means for missile damage. At the same time, the GS does not mention the prisoners of war, information about which was thrown away by the Russian side immediately after the downing — allegedly there were Ukrainian prisoners on board who were supposed to be exchanged.
The State Duma of the Russian Federation said that the exchange of prisoners was being prepared today, and with the downing of the plane, Ukraine disrupted the exchange according to the "192 for 192" scheme. The second plane with the second group of prisoners was allegedly diverted. Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, confirmed that the exchange of prisoners was supposed to take place today. The application of the Russians is being checked both at the GUR and at the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
The publications "Vazhnye istorii" and "Mediazon" write that the IL-76 flew from Belgorod deep into Russia. The video of his fall was shot in the center of the village of Yablonov, north of the city. The media also published a photo showing the traces of an explosion in the sky, typical of air defense operations. There are several photos from the likely place of the plane crash — there are no traces of the death of a large number of people on them.
Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan published a list of the names of, as she claims, the dead Ukrainian prisoners. It has 65 surnames. The OSINT community has questioned the veracity of the list. Some of the names on the list are previously exchanged Ukrainians.