Relatives of Azovstal defenders attend rally after tragedy in Olenivka with a call to the world

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — SATURDAY, 30 JULY 2022, 16:24

Relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Azovstal call on the world to recognise Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Source: Association of families of Azovstal defenders on Telegram, Interfax-Ukraine

Details: On Sofia Square in Kyiv on Saturday, relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Azovstal and activists called on the world community to react to the tragedy that happened on Friday in the prison camp in occupied Olenivka, and to recognise the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of global terrorism.

A few dozen people gathered on the square, most of whom were relatives of the prisoners of war from the Azov regiment. Groups of people with placards stood on Sofia Square near the monument to Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.

The organiser of the event was the Vyrii initiative group with the support of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders.

Kateryna Prokopenko, wife of the commander of the Azov regiment, noted that when the defenders of Azovstal laid down their arms and went into captivity, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assured that nothing would threaten their lives and health.

Similar rallies are also announced for 30-31 July in a number of cities and countries around the world, including Berlin (Germany), Krakow (Poland), Istanbul (Turkey), Montreal (Canada), Frankfurt (Germany), Geneva (Switzerland). Other locations will also be in Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), Warsaw (Poland), Batumi, Tbilisi (Georgia), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Alicante (Spain), Riga (Latvia) and London (United Kingdom).

Statement of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders: "We demand that Russia is recognised as a state sponsor of terrorism, which does not abide by the Geneva Conventions and violates all the rules of warfare.

We demand that the UN and the ICRC, which guaranteed the safety of Ukrainian prisoners of war, immediately respond to the terrorist act committed by Russia and send their representatives to the PoW camp in the village of Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast as an inspection mission to find out the circumstances of the tragedy, the state of health of the injured and other prisoners of war, and to facilitate the transfer of the bodies of the killed prisoners of war to the Ukrainian side."

Background:

• On the morning of 29 July, Russian-aligned propaganda media reported the shelling of a PoW camp in Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast where Ukrainian prisoners were held. Russia claimed that at least 53 prisoners were killed. The General Staff of Ukraine denied the Russian Federation’s accusations that the attack was carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, the Russians were trying to cover up the torture and killing 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 Defence.
• 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 Olenivka PoW camp which killed at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners.
• The Ukrainian defenders issued 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 PoW camp where the Russians are holding the defenders. 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.

On 30 July, the Russian mass media published lists of the names of the injured and killed as a result of terrorist actions in Olenivka. However, the Azov Patronage Service reported that it could not confirm or deny these reports, and Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Ukraine had not received the lists of prisoners of war killed in Olenivka.

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