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.
"We will still do everything we can to bring our guys back, and this work will continue no matter how hard it might be, you can see for yourself how hard it is," Kartapolov said.