On Friday, July 25, a farewell ceremony was held in Lviv for 12 defenders of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, who were captured by Russian forces and died in the IL-76 plane crash over Belgorod on January 24, 2024.

This was reported by the Media Initiative for Human Rights and written by the 24th Brigade ,  Censor.NET reports .

Ukrainian defenders who were said goodbye today:

1. Vladyslav Bobrovsky
2. Bohdan Dudiak
3. Nazar Kovalyk
4. Yaroslav Kryvano
5. Oleg Kuzma
6. Serhiy Levkiv
7. Ivan Ohapsky
8. Nazar Petrykiv
9. Yaroslav Sobolev
10. Deuran Tailakov
11. Mykola Trukhan
12. Ivan Fedeka .

They all fought as part of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, carried out combat missions, and were captured by the Russians. The youngest soldier was 26 years old at the time of his death , the oldest was 56 .

“Some of the men Lviv said goodbye to today had military experience from the ATO era. But all of them returned to service, mobilized, or became volunteers at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Some of them even left their jobs abroad to defend the Motherland,” the Media Initiative for Human Rights noted.

After the ceremony, the bodies of the soldiers were taken to their home communities for burial. Three will be buried on Saturday in Lviv.

Il-76 crash in Belgorod region of Russia

On January 24, an Il-76 aircraft, which is used to transport equipment and troops, crashed in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation .

Russian media reported that the plane was carrying mainly Ukrainian prisoners of war, all of whom died.

The Defense Ministry’s General Directorate of Military Intelligence confirmed information that a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine was to take place on January 24. Later, General Directorate representative Andriy Yusov clarified that this exchange was to be the largest ever since the full-scale Russian invasion.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will insist on an international investigation into the situation with the plane and an exchange of prisoners.

The SBU has opened proceedings into the crash of an Il-76 in the Belgorod region.

Neither the UN nor the US can establish whether Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the plane.

Lubinets later reported that Russia does not allow international experts into the investigation, and the ICRC does not require this access.

In early February, the representative of the Defense Ministry’s GUR, Andriy Yusov, reported that Ukraine had appealed to Russia to return the bodies of Ukrainian prisoners of war who allegedly died in the crash of an Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region. Russia has not yet responded to these requests.

As previously reported by Censor.NET, on March 1, the Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova stated that Russia is ready to transfer to Ukraine the bodies of those allegedly killed in the Il-76 crash. Subsequently, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets noted that there will be communication with the Russian Federation regarding the transfer of the bodies of those allegedly killed in the Il-76 crash. On December 9, the Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova assured that Russia has allegedly transferred to Ukraine the bodies of prisoners of war who, as the Russian side insists, died in the Il-76 crash in the Belgorod region on January 24, 2024. Lubinets, in turn, stated that the remains of the dead who were allegedly on board the Il-76 were transferred to Ukraine . Identification is ongoing.

Author:  Valeria Sushkova Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/p3565319

(c)CENSOR.NET 2025