Ukrainian soldiers, who were allegedly transported by Russia on the downed Il-76 plane on January 24, were not returned during todayʼs prisoner exchange. The fate of these servicemen from the list is currently unknown.
Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated this in a comment to "Voice of America".
"People who were on the preliminary list for the exchange, which was supposed to take place on January 24, but did not take place due to the breakdown of the Il-76 plane, were not returned during this exchange," Yusov said.
Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said in a comment to "Army TV" that the soldiers who were supposed to be exchanged on January 24 returned home today. However, they did not include 65 fighters who allegedly died when the Il-76 plane crashed.
"Those who should have returned the previous time during the canceled exchange have returned. Unfortunately, the 65 servicemen that Russia claimed were on board the Il plane were not returned. Similarly, Russia refuses to provide any information [about them]," explained Yatsenko.
The Russians claim that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the IL-76 plane — the list of prisoners was published by Russian propagandists. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War later confirmed that on January 24 they really planned to exchange 65 Ukrainian defenders, whose names were published by Russian propagandists after the downing of the IL-76.
At the same time, the interviewed relatives of the fighters from the mentioned list, having read the video materials of the propagandists, have not found any special signs on the publicized fragments of the bodies that would indicate their relatives.
Earlier, Yusov said that there could be missiles for the S-300 and S-400 systems on board, and the prisoners could be used as shields.
What happened?
On the morning of January 24 , an Il-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that it was shot down, and on board were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three companions — all of them died. The Russian authorities announced the disruption of the exchange of prisoners. The Russian Federation did not provide any evidence that there were prisoners on the plane.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that the exchange was planned for January 24. They emphasized that Russia had previously warned about the need for Belgorod airspace security during exchanges, but this time it was silent. On January 25, GUR said that there were supposed to be senior officials of the military and political leadership on board the downed Il-76, but the Russian FSB forbade them to fly at the "last moment." Only five bodies were taken to the morgue in Belgorod, and Russian rescuers were not allowed to inspect the scene.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine indirectly confirmed that Ukrainian troops shot down an Il-76, adding that the enemy uses such aircraft to deliver ammunition and missiles to Belgorod, which are used to fire at Kharkiv and the region. In its statement, the General Staff did not mention the alleged death of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces hinted that the statement of the Russians about the shooting down of their own prisoners of war by Ukraine is a discredit in order to reduce international support.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the military and special services to thoroughly understand the situation. Ukraine will insist on an international investigation of the event. The Security Service of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings.