The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, did not rule out the possibility of the presence of Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the downed Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region .
"There is no confirmed information yet, except that the plane crashed. Russian information is limited, mostly not from official sources, so Ukraine is insisting on the formation of an international commission to investigate the incident," Yusov told the BBC's Sarah Rainsford.
When asked whether it was known that Ukraine had shot down the plane, he replied: “We do not confirm such information.”.
Russia claims that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, intended for exchange, were on board the Il-76 plane shot down on January 24. It says that all 74 people, including crew members and escorts, were killed.
Ukrainian intelligence, in turn, reports that only the bodies of five crew members were delivered to the Belgorod morgue.
Russia's Investigative Committee released a short video showing blood on the snow, the wreckage of the plane, and a large blackened area of land from its crash.
The recording contains some details of human bodies, but there is a limited amount of footage from the scene.
The Security Service of Ukraine announced the start of a criminal investigation into the plane crash on January 25. The investigation is being conducted under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which concerns violations of the laws and customs of war.
Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an official statement indicated that Russia used aircraft to transport weapons, which were regularly used to shell the Kharkiv region. It was noted that the Ukrainian army was monitoring this and taking measures “to eliminate the means of delivery” of weapons.
Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk also released a statement in which he emphasized that “Ukraine has the right to self-defense and the destruction of the aggressor’s air attack means.”.
In a conversation with BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, noted that as part of the investigation into the downed plane case, Ukraine will consider all possible versions of the event.
Yusov recalled that military operations are ongoing in the Belgorod region, which has led to the closure of Belgorod to civil aviation, and a significant amount of air defense is also located there.
According to a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate, both sides used drones over Belgorod on the day of the disaster. The Ukrainian drones were reconnaissance, and the Russian ones were used for strike operations. It was also noted that Russian air defense was active, and Belgorod was potentially in the range of Ukrainian air defense systems.
Yusov suggested that the downing of the plane could be the result of “friendly fire” from the Russian army or a planned provocation. He pointed to the need for an independent investigation by an international commission, which should involve representatives of other countries and international organizations, emphasizing the importance of full access to the scene of the tragedy and any parts of the plane or missile.
Yusov emphasized that the Il-76 aircraft that crashed was previously used to transport ammunition for strategic aviation and “missiles for the S-300 and S-400 systems” to the Belgorod region.
Regarding the prisoner exchange, he confirmed that it was planned and was to take place in Sumy region, not Belgorod region, west of Belgorod. The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate rejected Russia's statement about the warning about the use of the plane to transport prisoners, claiming that such information did not come from Russia.
According to Yusov, it is possible that the plane could be carrying both people and ammunition at the same time. He stressed the need for a thorough investigation, as well as determining the role of an international commission in this process.
