The Security Service of Ukraine, the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights issued a joint statement on the mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the occupied Olenivka in Donetsk region.

The leaders of the law enforcement agencies demand from the UN and the Red Cross International Committee to produce reaction to the death of Ukrainian soldiers.

These organizations are the ones that guaranteed the life and health of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

They also demand sending human rights defenders to the Olenivka to investigate the circumstances of the crime.

“They should immediately send representatives of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada and representatives of the Joint Center for Search and Release of Prisoners to the territory of the colony in Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region with the purpose of an inspection mission,” the statement reads.

In addition, they reported, that according to the Russians, more than 50 Ukrainian defenders died at the scene of the tragedy, the number of wounded is unknown.

At the same time, the Russian mass media reported that not a single Russian worker of the colony or DPR military guarding the explosion site was injured.

Statement:

1. The committed explosion is a cynical terrorist act of the Russian Federation, a military provocation and a classic false flag operation, the purpose of which is to cover up war crimes, discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine, disrupt the supply of Western weapons and increase social tension in Ukrainian society.

2. The Armed Forces of Ukraine strike exceptionally at Russian military facilities: depots with fuel, weapons and ammunition, command posts, and military infrastructure facilities. The Ukrainian army has enough tools to identify targets, including space reconnaissance systems. Ukraine did not fire rockets and artillery at the Olenivka village.

3. The evacuation process of Mariupol defenders, which had been surrounded and under attack by Russian troops for a long time, from the Azovstal plant territory began on May 16 with the mediation of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The format of the evacuation provided for the establishment of a regime of silence and the surrender of the Ukrainian military as prisoners, with subsequent exchange under the guarantees of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. This format was chosen and approved by the defenders of Mariupol, who participated in the negotiations. As a result, the first of the planned exchanges of prisoners of war took place on June 29, 144 defenders returned to Ukraine. Among them are 95 Azovstal defenders.

4. The key condition of the chosen format was the obligations of the Russian side to international organizations regarding the preservation of the lives and health of Ukrainian defenders. This guarantee was cynically violated.

5. On the night of July 29, an organized killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war took place on the territory of the former Olenivka colony. The planned nature of this crime and its commission by the Russian side are indicated by many documented evidences: in particular, the deliberate transfer of fighters to a new premises shortly before the explosion, analysis of the nature of the damage and the movement of the blast wave, interception of the militants’ telephone conversations, the absence of shelling in the specified place, and others. All this leaves no doubt: the explosion in Olenivka was a Russian terrorist act and a gross violation of international agreements.

Context

On the morning of July 29, Russian propagandists announced the death of Ukrainian prisoners of war. They were kept in a penitentiary facility in the occupied Olenivka village of the Donetsk Region.

Subsequently, the Security Service of Ukraine has made public the telephone conversations of the so-called “DPR” fighters. The fighters discussed the provocation and explosions from inside the building.

The Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that mercenaries of the “PMC Wagner” are behind the explosions. They committed a terrorist act to hide the embezzlement of funds allocated for the maintenance of prisoners of war.