Russia ready to return bodies of Ukrainian prisoners in plane crash

"All necessary procedures are ready for the handover of the victims' bodies," Moskalkova said, referring to the crash of a military transport plane in Russia's Belgorod region in January this year, which killed about 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Investigators examine fragments of the missile used to shoot down the Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane. Photo: Russian Defense Ministry

Earlier on January 24, Moscow accused Kiev of shooting down a Russian Aerospace Forces Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane in the Belgorod region, killing 74 people on board. Among them were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being prepared to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war, 3 Russian officers and 6 crew members.

Russian state media has published a list of the names and dates of birth of 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who they say were on board the plane. However, Ukraine's Main Directorate of Defense Intelligence said Russia has not provided evidence that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the crashed Il-76 military transport plane.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied shooting down the plane, and has demanded an explanation from Russia about who was on board and what happened.

The Russian side determined that the Kiev military attacked the plane with two missiles from the area of Liptsy village, Kharkov region of Ukraine. The investigation showed that these were MIM-104A guided air defense missiles launched from the US Patriot air defense system.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters, RIA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nga-san-sang-trao-tra-thi-the-cac-tu-binh-ukraine-trong-vu-may-bay-roi-post286355.html