The chairman of the International Relations Committee of Russia’s Federation Council, Grigory Karasin, described the Ukrainian secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexei Danilov as making sarcastic remarks when he claimed that there were no prisoners aboard the crashed Il-76. Karasin expressed his view in a conversation with the publication Lenta.ru, calling Danilov’s words a form of sarcasm that should be understood in context and noting that the exact intent behind such statements is unclear.
Karasin added that Danilov is known for making provocative remarks and that it is difficult to determine what he meant or in what situation those remarks were made. The senator’s comments came after a report in The New York Times suggested that the Patriot air defense system had been used against a Ukrainian Air Force Il-76 carrying captured soldiers, prompting Danilov to deny the presence of military personnel on board. The Ukrainian official also speculated that the plane could have been shot down by forces on the Ukrainian side.
The Il-76 military transport aircraft crashed in the Korochansky district of the Belgorod region on January 24 after being struck by a missile. The aircraft carried a group of 65 Ukrainian servicemen who had been captured, along with six crew members and three accompanying personnel. Those captured were being transported for potential exchange, a detail that has fed into ongoing discussions about prisoner handling and convoy safety in the broader conflict.
Earlier remarks from officials and media reports had indicated that the Il-76 was believed to be carrying prisoners when the incident occurred. The Russian side has repeatedly stated that the situation involved captured personnel and has tied the crash to the use of missile defense systems. The events surrounding the crash continue to be a focal point of political discourse among regional and international observers, who seek clarity amid competing narratives and conflicting claims about responsibility and the handling of detainees.