Ukraine yet to receive names of PoWs killed in Olenivka – human rights ombudsman

IRYNA BALACHUK – SATURDAY, 30 JULY 2022, 13:53

As of the morning of 30 July, Ukraine has not yet received a list of the names of Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in the Russian prison camp in Olenivka on 29 July.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Human Rights Commissioner in the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament - ed.], on air during the national 24/7 newcast; Azov Patronage Service, Meduza

Quote from Lubinets: "I have requested this information. So far, we have not yet received the lists. I know that the Russian side has them, but we do not have them at present."

Details: The ombudsman has said that he has requested information relevant to the return of the bodies of the Ukrainian soldiers who had been killed.

He has added that the relatives of Ukrainian PoWs should still contact the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) themselves, because only relatives can obtain information about each particular prisoner.

Quote from Lubinets: "I can only obtain the overall numbers – that is, how many [prisoners] were held there, how many have been killed, how many have been injured. We can already estimate those numbers. But the International Committee of the Red Cross cannot share the names of [those prisoners] with me; only the relatives of each soldier can obtain this information."

Details: When asked whether the information obtained by Ukrainian officials on the number of Ukrainian PoWs killed in Olenivka coincides with that shared by Russian occupying forces [i.e., that 53 soldiers were killed - ed.], the ombudsman has said that the numbers are similar, but not exactly the same. He has added that Ukraine’s estimate of the number of PoWs injured in the Olenivka shelling also roughly coincides with the number provided by the Russians.

In addition, Lubinets has said that several PoW exchanges – as well as exchanges of the bodies of soldiers killed in battle – had already taken place between Ukraine and Russia. He has added, however, that Ukraine will now have to reevaluate decisions on how to proceed with such exchanges.

The human rights commissioner has stressed that Ukraine holds sufficient Russian PoWs in its exchange fund.

Background:

On 30 July, Russian media published lists of names of Ukrainian soldiers who had been killed or wounded in the Russian shelling of the Olenivka prison camp. According to the Russian media, 50 Ukrainian PoWs have been killed and 73 have been wounded.

The Azov Patronage Service has said that it could not confirm or refute these reports and was working to confirm their veracity.

It has also said that the information regarding the PoWs killed and wounded in Olenivka was being given to the family of each prisoner individually.

Background:

• On the morning of 29 July, Russian-aligned propaganda media reported the shelling of a penal colony in Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, where Ukrainian prisoners are being held. Russia has claimed that at least 53 prisoners were killed.
• The General Staff of Ukraine has reported that Russia had shelled the penal colony in Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, to cover up the torture and murders of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
• The Ukrainian Directorate of Intelligence believes that the killing of Ukrainian prisoners in Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, was organised by the Wagner Group [a Russian private military company - ed.] on the personal instructions of Yevgeny Prigozhin, without coordination with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
• The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has later disclosed intercepted telephone conversations in which Russian occupiers confirm that Russian troops were responsible for the explosion in the building where the Ukrainian prisoners were held.
• Ukrainian heads of staff and the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner of Human Rights have published a joint statement demanding that the UN and the ICRC – which acted as guarantors of the lives and health of Ukrainian fighters – send their representatives to the Russian prison camp where the crime took place. The ICRC representatives said they have submitted a request and will try to reach the shelled prison camp in Olenivka where Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in the comment on the Russian shelling of Olenivka, has said that it "cannot independently assess the nature of the attack or the party responsible for it at this time" but that the fire damage in Olenivka did no correspond to the sort of damage "a HIMARS strike would likely have caused" [in reference to the Russian allegation that Ukrainian forces deliberately struck the Olenivka prison camp using Western-provided HIMARS - ed.]

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