A representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, told Radio Liberty that Russian officials were supposed to be on board the IL-76 plane that crashed in Russia's Belgorod Region the day before, but at the last minute the FSB forbade them to board.
According to him, Ukrainian intelligence became aware of this after the crash.
"Several VIPs from the military and political representation of the aggressor state were indeed supposed to be on board. Their names are known and will be revealed, and the materials will be provided as part of the international investigation. But at the last moment, the FSB actually ordered them not to board the plane and to use other means of transport. This became known already after the incident happened," Yusov said.
He also added that Russian rescuers were not allowed to inspect the crash site.
"Representatives of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry who arrived at the scene were actually driven out by representatives of the FSB and the military, and they were not allowed to inspect the site and localise the wreckage, according to the report," the GUR representative said.
Yusov also said that the video from the crash site does not show the remains of human bodies. And only five bodies were delivered to the local morgue in Belgorod the day before.
"We know from intelligence reports that as of yesterday, only five bodies were delivered to the Belgorod morgue. In fact, this number corresponds to the number of crew members of the same IL-76, the same aircraft that was part of the Russian Aerospace Forces," Yusov said.
The crash of the IL-76
- On the afternoon of 24 January, an IL-76 military transport aircraft crashed in Russia's Belgorod Region. The Russians claimed that there were allegedly Ukrainian prisoners of war on board and accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane. They also immediately said that Ukraine had allegedly used Western weapons. It is worth noting that Russia has previously resorted to deadly provocations with captured Ukrainians, including in Olenivka, where it blew up a detention centre and tried to shift the blame to Ukraine.
- The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine confirmed that a prisoner exchange was scheduled for 24 January, but it was disrupted. It said yesterday that it did not have "reliable and comprehensive information about who exactly was on board the plane and in what quantity. For its part, Ukraine has fulfilled all the agreements to prepare the exchange. The Russian captured servicemen were delivered on time to the agreed point for the exchange, where they were kept safe".
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Main Intelligence Directorate is investigating the fate of all the prisoners. The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating all the circumstances. He instructed Ukraine's foreign minister to inform partners about the available data in Ukraine. Ukraine will insist on an international investigation.
- Radio Liberty journalists have identified some of the dead crew members of the IL-76. They served in the 117th Military Transport Aviation Regiment based in Orenburg. The 17th Regiment is military unit No. 45097 in Orenburg Region. According to publicly available data, this regiment is engaged in the maintenance of military aircraft transporting special cargo for the material support of the Russian army.
- According to unconfirmed official reports in the media, the IL-76 was delivering shells. Yesterday evening, the General Staff reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would continue to take measures to destroy delivery means and control the airspace to avoid a terrorist threat, in particular in the Belgorod-Kharkiv sector.