Danylov: Russian Side Would Not Hesitate to Show Footage of the Dead, Now There’s Nothing to Show

The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danylov, stated in an interview with the publication "Babel" that there were no Ukrainian prisoners of war on the Il-76 aircraft that crashed near Belgorod on January 24.

“Were our prisoners there? I can say with confidence, no. I say this based on our experience after Tehran and everything that happened thereafter. If this had happened, then the biological material, which is called, let’s say, dead, would be in significant quantity,” Danylov said.

In addition, the NSDC Secretary suggested that if there indeed were Ukrainian servicemen on the aircraft, the Russian side would not hesitate to show footage of the dead, and now, in his opinion, "there is nothing to show." He added that the Ukrainian side does not know whether the captives who were supposed to be exchanged on January 24 are currently alive.

The Il-76 military transport aircraft was shot down on January 24 in the vicinity of the village of Yablonovo in the Belgorod region. The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, who were being transported for an exchange, labeling the incident as an act of terrorism and accusing Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that the exchange of prisoners was being prepared but emphasized that they had no information about whether Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were on the aircraft.

The Russian Investigative Committee has stated that the aircraft was struck by a missile from the American Patriot air defense system, launched from the Liptsi area in the Kharkiv region. This claim was also made by Vladimir Putin, suggesting that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could have inadvertently shot down the aircraft. American officials have confirmed to The New York Times, on condition of anonymity, that the Il-76 was hit by a Patriot missile.