According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “more than 50” Ukrainian prisoners of war died after an explosion in a prison in Olenivka run by pro-Russian separatists, and the separatists speak of 47 victims. Among them are members of the Azov regiment – the fighters who fought for weeks in the Mariupol steelworks against the vastly outnumbered Russian army.
Media showed images of a burned-out dormitory with corpses. Many bodies covered with tarps also lay in front of the building, which showed bullet holes.
Russia and Ukraine are now accusing each other of shelling the prison. Kyiv blames Moscow and speaks of “state terrorism”, Russia claims that Ukraine fired at the prison with the Himars multiple rocket launchers.
There is no clear evidence as to who is responsible for the attack. However, there are many indications that the attack came from the Russian side – either from the army itself or from pro-Russian separatists.
According to the New York Times, the Ukrainian domestic intelligence service SBU published a bugged conversation between two pro-Russian separatists on Friday.
In the conversation, the two soldiers talk about the explosion. Accordingly, none of the soldiers heard a rocket before it exploded in the prison. Their conclusion: the attack must have come from the Russian side. According to the New York Times, the audio recordings could not be independently verified.
A US military spokesman told the New York Times when asked about the Russian Himars allegations: “We have not seen any evidence to support this in any way.”
Explosive: On Friday evening, after the attack on the prison, the Russian embassy in Great Britain published a tweet. “The Azov military deserve the execution. Not by firing squad, but by hanging, because they’re not real soldiers. You deserve a degrading death.” The tweet is still online.
The New York Times also spoke to Dmitriy Bodrov. Bodrow was held in prison until July 4. With the arrival of the Azov fighters in mid-May, there were two drastic changes: the separatist fighters who had guarded the prison until then were replaced by Russian soldiers. And: The Russian troops fired rockets from the barracks in which the fighters were imprisoned – according to Bodrow apparently to provoke Ukrainian retaliatory strikes on the barracks.
Shortly before the explosion, the Azov fighters were then transferred to the area of the prison where they would ultimately die. According to the New York Times, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, said the barracks in this area had only been completed a few days earlier. Bodrov said no prisoners were held there during his time in Olenivka.
It wouldn’t be the first time Russia has blamed Ukraine for attacks on civilian targets. According to the Ukrainian governor, 57 people died and more than 100 were injured in a Russian attack on the Kramatorsk train station in early April. People had gathered at the besieged city’s railway station to be evacuated.
At the time, Russia claimed it had not carried out any missile strikes in the area. Pro-Russian separatists eventually blamed Ukraine for the attack. A fake video purporting to come from Britain’s BBC, proving that Ukraine carried out the attack, was circulated in Russian media. However, the video is fake and not from the BBC.
“This is further confirmation that Russia is a terrorist state,” Zelenskyy said on Friday evening, according to a message on his Telegram news service channel. “There is ample evidence that this was a planned crime.”
Weeks later, Kyiv and the surrounding area are again under rocket fire. Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on the international community to recognize Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism”. Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov wants to speak to Blinken “if time permits”.
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