MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - The crash of an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane near Belgorod has thwarted the exchange of captive Russian and Ukrainian servicemen, Russian State Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrei Kartapolov said.
"A 192-for-192 swap was planned for today. The first [plane] was carrying 65 people, and the second had the rest onboard," Kartapolov told reporters on Wednesday in response to a question about how many prisoners were due to be exchanged.
In his opinion, Ukraine downed the Il-76 "to thwart the exchange and place the blame on Russia."
"It seems that a swap will not be on the table today," he said.