Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said in a recent interview with the state media that Moscow has returned the bodies of Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in an attack on January 24 against a Russian military transport plane in the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border. According to the Russian military, the aircraft was carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs to a planned prisoner swap. Six crew members and three guards also died when the plane was shot down.
Ukrainian officials did not formally take responsibility for firing on the transport plane but insisted that it was a legitimate military target that was also carrying anti-aircraft missiles to be used against the Kharkiv region. Kyiv has not commented on Moskalkova’s comments this week.
Further reading
- Military plane reportedly transporting over 60 Ukrainian POWs crashes in Russia’s Belgorod region
- Russia says it’s ready to hand over bodies of Ukrainian POWs allegedly killed in Belgorod plane crash
- Ukraine’s POW Coordination Headquarters says 65 POWs from unofficial Russian list of those allegedly on crashed plane were to be part of prisoner exchange
- Ukrainian military intelligence comments on Russian military plane crash, says Russia may have deliberately endangered lives of POWs
- Russia’s Investigative Committee releases video which it alleges shows Ukrainian POWs loaded onto crashed military plane