High-ranking Russian officials were supposed to be on board the Il-76 aircraft that crashed in Belogorod Oblast on Jan. 24, but the Federal Security Service (FSB) did not allow them to board at "the last moment," Andrii Yusov, Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson, told RFE/RL on Jan. 25.

The Il-76 transport plane crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24, allegedly killing everyone on board. Russia's Defense Ministry then claimed that 65 Ukrainian POWs had been on the plane due to a scheduled prisoner exchange later that day.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency did not confirm whether prisoners were on the plane, nor commented on what might have caused the crash, but said a prisoner exchange had been planned for that day.

According to Yusov, Ukrainian intelligence suggests that several senior military and political officials should have been on board but were instead told by the FSB to use other modes of transport.

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