The Main Intelligence Directorate has confirmed that a prisoner exchange was planned for January 24, and information regarding the possible presence of individuals on board the Il-76 is being verified

The Main Intelligence Directorate has confirmed that a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia was being prepared for today, January 24. It is now being investigated whether there could have been Ukrainian servicemen on board the IL-76 plane that crashed in the Belgorod region.

This was reported to OBOZ.UA by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. Intelligence representative Andriy Yusov stated that the planned exchange is not taking place at the moment.

According to Suspilne, the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Russia is trying to find out who was on board the IL-76. So far, they have no relevant information, said ICRC spokesman Alexander Vlasenko. He said that the organization does not participate in prisoner exchanges, only in handling the bodies of the deceased, and learns about them after they have taken place.

At the same time, Mariana Homeriki, a spokeswoman for the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders, said that the exchange was not known in advance, as it is usually learned after the fact. Now they are waiting for official information from the Ukrainian special services and authorities.

As a reminder, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets also said that the issue of Ukrainian prisoners on board the IL-76 plane that crashed in the Belgorod region is being clarified. He urged media representatives and Ukrainians not to make premature conclusions and to trust only official sources, as well as not to spread false information.

The Russians said that there were 75 people on board the IL-76 (according to the previous version, 63 people), including 5 crew members. They all died.

Later, propagandists began to actively spread the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry that there were Ukrainian prisoners of war on the plane. However, even ordinary Russians did not believe in the fake news about prisoners on board.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

– Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko said that the Russian Defense Ministry's statements about Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the IL-76 military transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region are fake. According to him, the plane was taking off, not landing, no exchanges were planned, and photos from the scene do not show the bodies of "dozens of people" who were allegedly on board.

– It is known that the IL-76 caught fire in midair. The moment the plane crashed was captured on video.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!