Ukraine responds to Russia's claims about transferring Il-76 crash victims

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported this on Telegram.

"As of now, expert institutions are establishing within the framework of criminal proceedings whether the remains of these individuals really belong to Ukrainian servicemen," the statement says.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War monitors the situation and is in contact with all authorized institutions.

Prior to that, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Russia had allegedly handed over the bodies of the dead POWs to Ukraine.

Crash of the IL-76 military transport aircraft in Russia

On January 24, a Russian military transport aircraft IL-76 crashed in the Belgorod region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the ship allegedly carried Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being transported to the Belgorod region for exchange.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia had requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council because of the downing of the plane, which Moscow accused Ukraine of shooting down. France rejected the request.

The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate confirmed that a prisoner exchange was to take place on January 24. The intelligence noted that it currently does not have reliable and comprehensive information about who was on board the plane and in what quantity.

White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said that the United States cannot confirm the presence of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Russian Il-76.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will insist on an international investigation into the downing of the IL-76 military transport aircraft in Russia.

On January 30, Ukrainian intelligence said that Russia refuses to hand over the bodies of prisoners who allegedly died in the IL-76.

On January 31, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said the IL-76 military transport aircraft was shot down by the U.S. Patriot system and promised to allow international experts to investigate.