Ukrainian servicemen, who, as the Russian side claimed, were planned for exchange and allegedly died in the crash of an Il-76 military transport plane a week ago in Belgorod region, were absent from the exchange that took place on Wednesday, a representative of the Main Intelligence Agency Andriy Yusov told Voice of America.

As reported, on the morning of January 24, an Il-76 plane crashed near the Russian city of Belgorod, on board which, according to Russian media reports, could have been Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said they do not have reliable information about who exactly was on board the Russian Il-76 aircraft, and believe that the situation may indicate deliberate actions by Russia aimed at creating a threat to the life and safety of prisoners. At the same time, the Main Intelligence Agency confirmed that an exchange of prisoners was supposed to take place on January 24, but it did not take place.

As the Main Intelligence Agency said, Ukraine, for its part, fulfilled all agreements to prepare for the exchange, and the Russian captured military personnel were delivered on time to the agreed point for the exchange, where they were safe. "At the same time, the Ukrainian side was not informed of the need to ensure the security of the airspace in the area of ​​the city of Belgorod during a certain period of time, as has been done repeatedly in the past. Ukraine was not informed about the number of vehicles, routes and forms of delivery of prisoners," the intelligence service said.

On Wednesday, January 31, 207 Ukrainians were released from Russian captivity, almost half of whom were defenders of Mariupol.