Ukraine has requested the return of the bodies of alleged prisoners of war who purportedly died in the crash of the Il-76, but the aggressor country has refused. Representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, stated this during a national Ukrainian news TV marathon on February 1.
"Regarding the information about the deaths - yes, Ukraine has been and continues to address the issue of transferring the bodies. So far, the russian side has not responded to this. Therefore, the demand of our state for an impartial international investigation into not only the circumstances of the Il-76 plane crash but also what was actually inside - whether there were people, whether there was ammunition, who was there besides the crew - remains relevant", - said the representative of the MID.
Yusov clarified that the status of these 65 soldiers, whom the russians declared dead, has not changed in Ukraine - they are still considered prisoners of war.
He also mentioned that the large-scale exchange of prisoners on January 31 was "almost the completion" of the disrupted operation on the day of the Il-76 crash.
It was previously reported that on January 31, 207 Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians were returned to Ukraine from russian captivity.