Evgenia Sokolenko12:04, 01/27/24

190 Ukrainian prisoners of war were to be exchanged.

Russia asked that the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war, who, according to the Kremlin, were allegedly on board the downed Il-76 aircraft , provide DNA for examination. However, the Russian Federation did not provide any evidence that there were bodies of the dead.

As  The Washington Post writes  , citing two people who were at the meeting of the coordination headquarters with the families, Ukraine refused the Russian Federation’s request. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, told those present about the incident.

According to the mother of one of the prisoners of war, the chairman of the Main Intelligence Directorate said that “the puzzle does not fit” and “most people are sure: [the Russian version of events] is a fake.” At the same time, more than 190 people were supposed to be exchanged, which coincides with the Kremlin’s statements.

Ukrainian intelligence spokesman Andrei Yusov also indicated that the exchange on January 24 was supposed to be one of the largest during a full-scale war.

“I think I expected more hysterical, panicky reactions. Intelligence spoke to us very frankly. Budanov began the conversation by saying: “Let’s essentially start with questions,” and that’s all. On the first day I was hysterical. But now I’ve calmed down.” ,” the prisoner of war’s mother told the publication.

She noted that one of the women present at the meeting asked when families would be able to receive the remains of their loved ones. However, the GUR surprised them with the answer.

“Wait, we hope for the best, and now we are not talking about the worst case scenario,” one intelligence official emphasized.

The crash of Il-76 in Russia – what is known

On January 24,  an Il-76 crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia . Russia claims that there were 65 prisoners of war on board, but Ukraine cannot yet confirm this. 

The United Nations also cannot establish whether there were Ukrainian prisoners of war on board  the Russian Il-76 plane shot down in the Belgorod region  .

 On January 26, GUR representative  Andrei Yusov  stressed that Russia did not transmit information to the Red Cross about Ukrainian prisoners in the exchange on January 24, which did not take place.

Subsequently, the ICRC stated that  if there were prisoners on board the Il-76 , their bodies should be handed over to Ukraine.

(C)UNIAN 2024