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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian intelligence spokesman outlines key gain of POW exchange with Russia
Ukraine is negotiating the next stages of a large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia under challenging conditions. Despite Russian pressure, the second stage, carried out on 10 June, saw the return of the first severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners. Many of them were not shown in a previously posted video, as they were immediately taken by ambulance to medical facilities. Source: Major Andrii Yusov, Deputy Head of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and spokesman for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), on a national joint 24/7 newscast; a video by the Coordination Centre; a video by the Security Service of Ukraine Quote from Yusov: "Today, among other things, we managed to bring back officers. This is an important separate achievement, a separate component. The conditions were very difficult. You can see the condition of our prisoners in the footage. However, many of them are not visible in the footage, as they were immediately taken away by ambulance. They cannot move on their own. Some diagnoses are listed, but these are people with amputations, loss of vision, hepatitis, tuberculosis and many other complications from Russian captivity. And all these people need immediate help, which will be provided. And work is already underway to continue the next stages of this complex exchange, this complex special operation." Details: When asked whether the current stage of the exchange was difficult, the DIU spokesperson said that no swap has been easy. Ukraine is negotiating with Russia under difficult circumstances, as the latter frequently disregards international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, and even exploits them for its own benefit, the officer stressed. Quote from Yusov: "Today, the talks continued in a way that truly hit a nerve, under extremely difficult conditions. And all these days, they were accompanied by an active enemy information attack, a disinformation campaign and an attempt to put pressure on the relatives of captured defenders. We are not commenting on the numbers now and this is very important. I would like to emphasise that until this exchange is completed, it is an important position not to comment on specific figures. I would like to appeal to everyone and experts, especially anonymous channels and sources: if you are acting in the interests of Ukraine and care about the interests of our defenders, do not disseminate unverified data, do not comment on the numbers until all stages are completed. This directly affects the process." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Majority of remains believed to be Ukrainian POWs killed in IL-76 crash match relatives' DNA
An examination has confirmed that the majority of the remains of what are believed to be Ukrainian POWs killed in the crash of an IL-76 warplane in Russia's Belgorod Oblast match the DNA of their relatives. These remains have been handed over to Ukraine by Russia. Source: Bohdan Okhrimenko, the head of the secretariat of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, in an interview with Ukrinform news agency Quote: "Indeed, 62 bodies were handed back to us in December. The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating the case. So far, nearly 50 preliminary matches have been made between the remains handed over by Russia and the DNA of relatives who have contacted the Coordination Centre. We have received the remains that Russia claims are from the bodies on the plane, but the Coordination Centre has no evidence to confirm they were on board." Previously: On 8 November 2024, the bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian defenders were brought back to Ukraine as a result of repatriation measures. In early December 2024, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova claimed in an interview with the Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Russia had handed over to Ukraine the bodies of POWs allegedly killed in the crash of an IL-76 in Belgorod Oblast on 24 January 2024. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed that Russia had handed over the bodies of Ukrainian defenders, whom it claimed were killed in the downing of the IL-76. However, the remains still need to be identified. On 18 December, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner, stated that the examination of the bodies could take up to two months. Background: On 24 January, a Russian Il-76 aircraft crashed in the Korocha district of Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Ukrainska Pravda sources in Ukraine's General Staff stated the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. Following the crash of a Russian IL-76 in Belgorod Oblast, several Russian media outlets reported statements by Andrei Kartapolov, Chairman of the State Duma Defence Committee, claiming the aircraft was carrying dozens of Ukrainian POWs being transported for an exchange. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights commissioner, stated he was investigating the situation. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Defence Intelligence confirmed that a prisoner exchange was scheduled for 24 January. A few hours after reports surfaced about the downing of the IL-76, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces issued a statement hinting that the aircraft was a military target and was transporting ammunition for the Russian military. Subsequently, Lubinets stated that Ukraine had found no evidence supporting claims by the Russian Ministry of Defence and other officials that the IL-76 military plane, which crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, was carrying a large number of POWs. Ukraine's spy chief, Kyrylo Budanov, added that the situation surrounding the IL-76 remains unclear, as Russia has not provided any evidence of the bodies. Russia has not presented any evidence to the UN Security Council that Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the IL-76 military transport aircraft and rejected calls for an international commission to investigate the incident near Belgorod on 24 January. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
