The Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that an exchange of prisoners was being prepared between Kiev and Moscow on January 24. This was reported by Forbes with reference to official representatives of the department Andrey Yusov. According to him, the exchange has not yet taken place.
The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate made these statements against the backdrop of today’s crash of an Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region, on board which were Ukrainian prisoners of war. All passengers and crew members were killed.
Earlier, the head of the Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, spoke about the planned exchange of prisoners today according to the formula “192 for 192”. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that there were 65 Ukrainian military personnel on board the Il-76.
A few hours after the crash, the RTVI television channel published an article claiming that the Ukrainian media first wrote about an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on an aircraft in the Belgorod area, and then edited the information, denying the involvement of the Ukrainian army in the plane crash.
The State Duma immediately blamed Ukraine for the attack on the military plane. The Russian parliament stated that after the attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the board with prisoners, Moscow will refuse any procedure for the exchange of captured soldiers. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that parliamentarians will prepare official appeals to the US Congress and the Federal Bundestag in order to, together with Western authorities, figure out exactly what missiles were used in the attack on the Russian plane.
Kiev has not yet commented on the death of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces regularly conduct military operations on Russian territory. In recent months, the Belgorod region and its administrative center have been repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian drones. On December 30, 2023, Belgorod came under massive shelling. 25 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
