The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (MOD Intelligence) stated that Ukraine does not possess reliable and exhaustive information about who exactly was on board the Il-76 aircraft. At the same time, Ukraine fulfilled the agreements for the proper preparation of the prisoner exchange, as stated in the department's official statement on Telegram on January 24.
"Today, a prisoner exchange was supposed to take place, which did not happen. According to the russian side, this was due to the downing of a russian Il-76 aircraft, which allegedly transported Ukrainian prisoners. Currently, Ukraine lacks reliable and exhaustive information about who exactly was on board the aircraft and in what quantity", - the Main Intelligence Directorate stated.
"On its part, Ukraine fulfilled all the agreements for the proper preparation of the exchange. Russian military prisoners were timely delivered to the agreed-upon location for the exchange, where they were safe", - the statement also said.
It is noted that, according to the agreements, the safety of our defenders should have been ensured by the russian side. 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 during a certain period, as was repeatedly done in the past.
"Ukraine was not informed about the number of vehicles, routes, and forms of transportation of prisoners. It is known that the delivery of prisoners occurs by aviation, as well as by rail and road transport. This may indicate intentional actions by russia aimed at creating a threat to the life and safety of prisoners. Landing a transport plane in a 30-kilometer combat zone cannot be safe and, in any case, should be discussed by both sides, as otherwise, it endangers the entire exchange process", - the intelligence officers noted.
It is summarized that based on this, there may be planned and intentional actions by the russian federation to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken the international support for our state.
As reported, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made a statement that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take measures to control the airspace on the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction.