Ukraine says it has repeatedly asked Moscow to return the bodies of dozens of prisoners of war that Russia says died in a plane crash last week, contradicting Kremlin statements that no request has been received on the matter.
Andriy Yusov, the spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence, said Kyiv's calls for the return of the remains of 65 POWs Russia claims were on the plane have fallen on deaf ears. He also said in comments on state television late on February 1 that an international probe is needed to establish the facts on the crash of the Il-76 military transport plane that purportedly left 74 dead in total.
"Regarding information about the deaths, Ukraine made requests and continues to do so regarding the transfer of the bodies. So far, the Russian side is not going for it.... So far, Russia has not intensified the process related to an open international investigation," Yusov added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on February 2, however, said Moscow had not received a request.
The Il-76 military transport plane crashed in Russia's Belgorod region on January 24.
When asked how Russia would react to such a request, Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Russian law enforcement agencies would have to consider such a request in light of the ongoing investigation into the crash in the Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine.
Russia has accused Ukraine of shooting down the military cargo plane on January 24, but Kyiv has yet to confirm that claim or that there were Ukrainian POWs on board who were to be involved in a prisoner exchange.
Ukrainian officials say Moscow didn’t ask for any airspace clearance, as it has in the past, to allow for the transport and exchange of POWs.
Neither side has put forward any evidence to help clear up the matter.
Aviation experts have told RFE/RL that it was possible a Ukrainian antiaircraft missile downed the plane but added that a Russian antiaircraft could have been responsible.
A Planet Labs satellite image showing the crash site, published by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, shows an approximately 500-meter-long trail left by the plane crash.
Schemes journalists previously managed to establish the names of the crew members of the Russian Il-76 plane, the death of three of whom was confirmed by their relatives.