Ukraine ready to continue prisoner swaps with Russia — military intelligence
"We will keep working to continue these exchanges, no matter how hard it is," an official spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Andrey Usov, said
MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. Kiev wants to continue its prisoner swaps with Moscow and is fully committed to working together on this issue, an official spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Andrey Usov, told Rada television.
"We will keep working to continue these exchanges, no matter how hard it is. However, this process requires the involvement of both sides. Ukraine is interested in bringing its soldiers home. We can and will exchange Russian captives," he said, answering a question about whether prisoner swaps will continue after the recent downing of the Il-76 plane.
Andrey Kartapolov, who chairs the defense committee of the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, said the effort to secure the release of Russians captured by Ukraine will continue.
On January 24 Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft that was carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers for exchange. All 74 people onboard, including 65 Ukrainians, were killed in the incident. The Russian Defense Ministry called the incident a terrorist act and said Kiev knew about the transportation of prisoners for an exchange that was to take place at the Kolotilovka checkpoint. The ministry said Ukraine attacked the plane so Kiev could blame Moscow for taking the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.