Occupiers record video of Volyna after Ukrainian defenders killed in Olenivka

ALONA MAZURENKO — MONDAY, 1 AUGUST 2022, 15:27

After the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka, Russian occupiers forced the commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, Major Serhii ‘Volyna’ Volynskyi, who is also a prisoner of the Russian Federation, to comment on the tragedy.

Source: video shared by propaganda resources

Details: In his response to the occupiers’ manipulative questions, Volyna hints that the Russian occupiers killed Ukrainian fighters in order to influence the psyche and morale of the captured defenders.

Quote from Volyna: "A very terrible tragedy happened. From our barracks we could see a yellow light, an explosion. We heard screams. The situation is terrible, it is very difficult to find words to describe it.

I think this situation will affect the psyche of the people who are in captivity, and the people who may be captured. There will be fear among those who were part of the events, and among their relatives and friends. Now our family and friends are very worried about what has happened. It is still not known for sure who died.

Everyone is in shock. No-one can find an explanation, everyone is in mourning. There is silence in the barracks. A big disaster has happened. People have been through hell. To put it bluntly, everyone is waiting at home for the long-awaited freedom, and such a tragedy occurs right at the finish line."

Details: The video was published by propagandist Andrey Rudenko.

He specifically asked a Ukrainian military officer why Ukrainian defenders had been killed, Volyna replied that he did not understand why people who were waiting for an exchange had been killed.

It is noteworthy that the propagandists filmed so that only the head of the Ukrainian soldier is seen on the video.

Background:

• On the morning of 29 July, Russian-aligned propaganda media reported the shelling of a prison camp 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 denied the accusations of the Russian Federation that the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The General Staff has reported that Russia shelled the prison camp 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 Defence.
• The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) later disclosed intercepted telephone conversations in which Russian occupiers confirm that Russian troops were responsible for the explosion at the prison camp in Olenivka in the building where the Ukrainian prisoners were held.
• Ukrainian heads of staff and the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] 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.
• 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 Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Ukraine had not received the lists of prisoners of war killed in Olenivka.

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