MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. Efforts to bring Russian prisoners of war home from Ukraine will continue, Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Defense Committee, told reporters.

"We cannot leave our guys to their own devices. This is why we will hold conversations with the devil himself and work even with the Evil One because we need to get our guys back. We have no choice but to engage in a conversation," he said in response to a question.

The Ukrainian armed forces shot down a Russian Il-76 military cargo aircraft over the borderline Belgorod Region on January 24. The aircraft was carrying captive Ukrainian military personnel who had been slated to be exchanged in a prisoner swap at the Ukraine-Russia border. The crash killed all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian POWs. The Russian Defense Ministry described the incident as a terrorist attack, pointing out that Kiev had been aware of the mission to transport Ukrainian POWs for a prisoner swap set to take place at the Kolotilovka checkpoint. However, Kiev attacked the plane in order to accuse Moscow of killing Ukrainian service members, the ministry noted.