exchanges of prisoners with Ukraine will continue, despite the crash of the Il-76 – Kommersant

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Andrei Kartapolov said that exchanges of prisoners of war with Ukraine will continue, despite the crash of the Il-76 near Belgorod. According to him, negotiations will continue “taking into account all realities.”

“We cannot abandon our guys and therefore we will talk even with the devil, work even with the evil one, but we need to get our guys out, we have no other choice,” said the deputy (quoted by Interfax). “We will talk taking into account all the realities, all the events and the understanding of who we are dealing with,” added Andrei Kartapolov.

According to the Ministry of Defense, an Il-76 military transport aircraft was shot down on January 24 in the Belgorod region by two anti-aircraft missiles from the Kharkov region. According to the department, there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners on board, three accompanying persons and six crew members. They all died. Andrei Kartapolov said that the prisoners were transported as part of an exchange according to the “192 for 192” scheme. According to him, another Il-76 was flying behind with 80 prisoners, but it was turned around.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed only the preparation of the exchange. The GUR added that the Ukrainian side does not have “reliable and comprehensive information about who exactly was on board the plane and in what quantity.”

At the Russian Foreign Ministry statedthat Ukraine deliberately shot down the Il-76 with prisoners. Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov statedthat the consequences of the Il-76 crash for the exchange of prisoners are not yet clear.

Read more about the crash in the Kommersant article. “Trade for Defeat”.

Anastasia Larina