ICRC submitted a request to visit Olenivka

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022, 21:09

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives submitted a request and will try to reach the shelled penal colony in Olenivka where Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) died.

Source : ICRC public relations and media specialist Oleksandr Vlasenko in a comment to Suspilno.

Direct speech : "We are of course aware of this situation and have requested, as soon as possible, access to this place in order to verify and see with our own eyes what happened and if any of those people there need our help."

Details : Vlasenko emphasised that if ICRC representatives get access to the shelled penal colony, they will not share information back to the Red Cross until they return.

"This is a common practice related to people's safety," he said.

According to Vlasenko, relatives of POWs can contact the Red Cross hotline in Geneva this weekend to get information. 

"Relatives can contact us to find information about specific people. If they report the name and surname of someone, and if we have information about that person, we will try to provide information. Unfortunately, we can only share information with relatives," said the ICRC representative.

What preceded : After POWs were killed by Russian occupiers in Olenivka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ombudsman of Ukraine demanded that the UN and the ICRC, which acted as guarantors of the lives and health of Ukrainian soldiers, send their representatives to the penal colony.

Background:

• On 29 July, Russian media reported on shelling of the colony in Olenivka, Donetsk region, where Ukrainian prisoners were held. Propagandists claimed there were at least 53 dead. 
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied the accusations of the Russian Federation that the attack was carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, the Russians tried to hide the torture and murder of prisoners.
• Intelligence agencies believe the killing of Ukrainian prisoners in Olenivka was organised by the "Wagner" mercenaries on the personal instructions of Yevgeny Prigozhin, without coordinating it with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
• The Security Service of Ukraine intercepted telephone conversations in which the occupiers confirmed that Russian troops are responsible for the explosion in the occupied Olenivka penal colony, which killed at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners.
• "Azov" units announced a hunt for those involved in the killing of POWs in Olenivka.

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