Ukraine intelligence: Russians did not ask for safety of airspace near Belgorod during planned prisoner swap

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR) said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"The exchange of prisoners was supposed to take place today, but it did not take place. According to the Russian side, this happened due to the downing of a Russian Il-76 plane, which was allegedly transporting our prisoners. At this time, we do not have reliable and thorough information about who exactly and how many people were on board the plane. For its part, Ukraine has fulfilled all agreements in preparation for the exchange. Russian prisoners of war were delivered on time to the designated exchange point, where they were kept in safety," the intelligence agency said.

HUR said the Russian side had to ensure the safety of Ukrainian defenders, according to the agreements. At the same time, the Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to ensure the safety of the airspace in the area of the city of Belgorod in a specific timeframe, as was repeatedly done in the past.

"Ukraine was not informed about the number of vehicles, routes and forms of delivery of prisoners. It is known that the delivery of prisoners takes place by air, rail and road," the intelligence agency added.

According to the post, this may be a sign of deliberate actions taken by Russia to create a threat to the lives and safety of prisoners.

"The landing of a transport plane in a 30-kilometer zone of hostilities cannot be safe and in any case must be discussed by both sides, because otherwise, it endangers the entire exchange process. Based on this, we may be talking about planned and deliberate actions by the Russian Federation to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken the international support for our state," HUR said.

According to Russian Telegram channels, an Il-76 plane, which is used to transport equipment and troops, crashed in the Belgorod region on January 24. Russian media reported that 63 people were on board the plane and that all of them died.

Sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that this aircraft was carrying a batch of S-300 air defense missiles. The Russian army is using these missiles for the massive shelling of the Kharkiv region and other Ukrainian regions bordering Russia. The Ukrainian Air Force has not yet commented on the crash of the Il-76 but promised to provide information later.

According to media reports, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members, and three accompanying persons.

Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian intelligence agency, said the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine was supposed to take place on January 24. According to him, claims by the Russian side that Ukrainian POWs could be on board the Il-76 plane that crashed in the Belgorod region are being verified.