We waited for them in Sumy: Defence Intelligence discloses details of failed 24 January PoW swap

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) has disclosed the details of the PoW swap with Russia which was planned for 24 January but was not held after an Il-76 aircraft crash in Belgorod Oblast in Russia.

Source: Andrii Yusov, representative of Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Coordination Staff, on air of the national 24/7 newscast

Quote: "The issue of transporting the prisoners of war for the swap is the captor’s responsibility. Ukraine has taken all measures to make yesterday’s swap possible.

Civilian transport with Russian PoWs was on site on the Sumy front. Everything was ready for the PoW swap. Corresponding services were warned, a ceasefire was announced on this front. The Border Guards and the Defence Forces were acting accordingly.

Last time, on 3 January, when Ukraine brought back 230 defenders, Russia also used aircraft for transportation of our captives. But then Ukraine was warned in advance, and the request for ceasefire was made because an aircraft with captive Ukrainians was landing. Certainly, Ukraine fulfilled all the requirements, and the swap was successful.

As for the measures taken yesterday…The aggressor has not informed us either orally or in written form.

…The Russians themselves admitted to using military aircraft to transport Ukrainian captives. Il-76M is a military aircraft with twin barrel anti-aircraft guns in the tail section."

Details: Yusov reported that this particular crew was spotted at airbase Engels-2 in Saratov Oblast in Russia, where it provided Russian strategic aircraft with ammunition. In addition to this, this is the very same aircraft which supplied missiles for the attacks on the city of Kharkiv.

Background:

• On the afternoon of 24 January, an Il-76 military aircraft crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Ukrainska Pravda's sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
• Following the crash of the Russian Il-76, 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.
• A few hours after the crash was reported, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a statement where they hinted that this plane was a military target and was transporting ammunition for the Russian army.
• Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence confirmed that an exchange of prisoners was planned for 24 January but it did not take place. At the same time, they said that there is no information on whether the IL-76 had Ukrainian PoWs on board.
• The White House said that it does not yet have enough information to determine what happened to the Il-76 plane that crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on 24 January.

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