Russian Human Rights Commissioner says Russia handed over bodies of people killed in the Il-76 crash to Ukraine
Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner, has said that Russia has handed over the bodies of Ukrainian prisoners of war allegedly killed in the Il-76 crash in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast on 24 January.
Source: Tatyana Moskalkova in a comment to pro-Kremlin Russian media outlet RIA Novosti (RIA News)
Details: When asked whether Russia was able to hand over the bodies of soldiers killed in the Il-76 crash, Moskalkova said: "They [the bodies] have been handed over. This happened, and I was there when it did."
Ukraine has not commented on Moskalkova’s claim.
Reference: On 8 November, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that the bodies of 563 fallen defenders have been brought back to Ukraine as a result of repatriation efforts. A total of 320 bodies of defenders who were killed in action on the Donetsk front and 89 fallen soldiers who were killed on the Bakhmut front were repatriated. In addition, 154 bodies were brought back from morgues within Russian territory.
Background:
- On 24 January, an Il-76 aircraft crashed in the Korocha district of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. Ukrainska Pravda's sources in the Armed Forces confirmed the downing of the aircraft, saying that "it was their job". Sources in the General Staff stated the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
- Following the downing of a Russian Il-76 transport aircraft in the Russian Federation's Belgorod Oblast, a number of Russian media outlets cited Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defence. He claimed that the plane contained dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been taken for exchange, and Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that he was looking into the situation.
- In response to the news of the downing of an Il-76 aircraft in Russia, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has issued a statement saying that it would "continue to destroy means of delivery and control the airspace to eliminate the terrorist threat, including on the Belgorod-Kharkiv front".
- Ukraine has received no evidence indicating that a large number of prisoners of war were onboard the Il-76 military transport aircraft that crashed in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, contrary to statements made by the Russian Ministry of Defence and other representatives of the aggressor country. Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, has said that the situation around the crash was unclear as Russia has failed to show the bodies of the soldiers allegedly killed in it.
- Among the prisoners who returned to Ukraine as a result of the exchange on 31 January, there were no soldiers who had been agreed to be exchanged on 24 January and were not exchanged after the Il-76 crash.
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