Ukrainian POWs were not on board Il-76 that crashed in Russia - Defence Council chief
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
There were no Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the Russian Il-76 aircraft that crashed near Belgorod. However, Ukraine does not have enough information about whether the prisoners who were supposed to be exchanged that day are alive, says the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov in an interview with Babel.
"Whether our prisoners were there, I can tell you for sure - no. I say this based on the experience we had after Tehran, and based on what happened later. If this had really happened, the number of biological material, so to speak, fatalities, would have been significant," he said.
Danilov believes that if there were Ukrainian prisoners on board the Il-76, the Russians would have used this information.
"It didn't happen there, they had this whole story prepared. So let's just wait, we just need to wait. If this had happened, believe me, Lavrov would have been shouting at the UN, and they would have shown all of this. They have nothing to show because if this had really happened, the picture would have been completely different," added the Secretary of the NSDC.
Crash of the Russian Il-76 aircraft
On January 24, a Russian Il-76 aircraft crashed near the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
Russia claims that allegedly there were 65 Ukrainian military prisoners, 6 crew members, and 3 escorts on board the aircraft. The Russians accuse Ukraine of allegedly shooting down the aircraft.
The Defense Intelligence confirmed that an exchange was indeed scheduled for January 24. However, the statement that Ukrainian POWs were on board the aircraft is not confirmed.
Later, the DI noted that there could have been missiles and people on board the Il-76. At the same time, according to intelligence, Russian high-ranking officials were also supposed to be on board. At the last moment, the FSB banned them from boarding the plane.
Ukraine's Security Service has opened a case regarding the crash of the Il-76 in the Belgorod region. Ukraine calls for an international investigation, but Moscow, in its traditional manner, opposes it.
