Moscow Informed Kyiv in Advance About the Transfer of Prisoners of War by Il-76, Peskov

Moscow informed Kyiv in advance about the transfer of prisoners of war by an Il-76 aircraft, which was shot down by the Ukrainian armed forces in the Belgorod region. This was stated by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia, to Izvestia.

“Here I suggest focusing on the messages that have been sent by us. It was our representatives who said that such messages were provided in a timely manner,” Peskov said.

On January 24, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that Kyiv was unaware of who was on board the aircraft, while they confirmed that a prisoner exchange was supposed to take place between the parties on that day. Additionally, the ministry accused Russia of trying to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken its international support.