Security forces of Ukraine issued a joint statement regarding the mass killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war on July 29, 2022, in the village of Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region.

“On the night of July 29, an explosion rang out on the territory of the former correctional colony No. 210 in the Olenivka settlement in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region. As a result, the building in which Ukrainian prisoners of war were kept was destroyed. According to the Russians, more than 50 Ukrainian defenders were killed, the number of wounded is unknown. According to the comments of the Russian side, not a single worker of the colony, DNR fighter or Russian military man guarding the premises was injured as a result of the explosion. Immediately after the explosion, Russia accused Ukraine of shelling the correctional colony with the use of American weapons and killing Ukrainian soldiers. In this regard declare the following:

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 exclusively at Russian military facilities: warehouses with fuel, weapons and ammunition, command posts, military infrastructure facilities. The Ukrainian army has enough means to identify targets, including space reconnaissance systems. Ukraine did not fire rockets and artillery at Olenivka.
3. On May 16, with the mediation of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the process of evacuating the defenders of Mariupol from the territory of the Azovstal plant, which had been surrounded and under attack by Russian troops for a long time, began. 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. On June 29, the first of the planned exchanges of prisoners of war took place, as a result of which 144 defenders returned to Ukraine. Among them are 95 defenders of “Azovstal”.
4. The key condition of the chosen format was the obligations of the Russian side to international organizations regarding the preservation of the life and health of Ukrainian defenders. This warranty has been 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 penal colony in the town of Olenivka. Many documented evidences point to the planned nature of this crime and its commission by the Russian side: in particular, the deliberate transfer of fighters to a new location 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 location, and others. All this leaves no doubt: the explosion in Olenivka was a Russian terrorist act and a gross violation of international agreements. Considering the above, WE DEMAND:
6. From the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which acted as guarantors of the life and health of Ukrainian prisoners of war, to immediately react to the terrorist act committed by the Russian Federation.
7. Immediately send representatives of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and representatives of the Joint Center for the Search and Release of Prisoners to the territory of the colony in the town of Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region for the purpose of an inspection mission . Armed Forces of Ukraine Security Service of Ukraine The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on human rights July 29, 2022″. We will remind you that on July 29, the Russian occupiers shelled the 120th colony in captured Olenivka, where they keep Ukrainian military and civilian prisoners in terrible conditions. As a result of the attack, many people were killed and injured. The invaders blamed the Armed Forces of Ukraine for this shelling. Many soldiers of the “Azov” regiment were kept in the colony. The leader of the Azov movement, Andriy Biletsky, announced that the hunt for the organizers and perpetrators of this crime was open.