Olenivka prisoners could have been killed with thermobaric weapons – Prosecutor General of Ukraine

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — MONDAY, 1 AUGUST 2022, 21:04

According to preliminary data from international experts, Ukrainian prisoners of war in the prison camp in occupied Olenivka were killed with thermobaric weapons.

Source: Andrii Kostin, the Prosecutor General, on the 24/7 national joint newscast

Quote from Kostin: "I'm getting reports every three hours about what's happening in this criminal case. We've brought in our international experts now. There are a lot of international experts working with the Prosecutor’s General Office.

I would like to inform you that the preliminary conclusions of our international experts indicate that a thermobaric weapon was the method of killing. These are preliminary conclusions of several international experts. That is, it was definitely not rocket fire – they are convinced of that.

This is also confirmed by the information that is currently being processed by pretrial investigation authorities under the procedural guidance of prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office."

Details: Kostin added that Russia has and continues to use thermobaric weapons.

"As for specific individuals [guilty of killing prisoners of war - ed.], urgent investigative actions are ongoing, but this issue is more complicated. In my opinion, it is the priority right now to expose Russian propaganda and disinformation about the possible detonation of this building with HIMARS-type missile systems, which is what they are trying to claim," said the Prosecutor General.

Commenting on the video of the torture and murder of a Ukrainian prisoner by a Russian soldier, Kostin said that the investigation has information on several people who may be involved in this crime.

"There is information about several people, but right now there is no indisputable information about the person who has committed this crime. As soon as we have indisputable evidence, this person will be notified of suspicion and may be put on an international wanted list," he said.

Previously: On 31 July, Christopher Miller, a journalist and Politico correspondent, published Maxar satellite photos showing the prison camp in occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, before and after the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The international intelligence community InformNapalm believes that a thermobaric bomb was the method of killing the prisoners of war.

Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President, also stated that "photo analysis indicates a thermobaric explosion from the inside."

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 has denied Russia’s allegations that the prison camp was shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has said that Russia shelled Olenivka 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 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) later disclosed intercepted telephone conversations in which Russian occupiers confirm that Russian troops were responsible for the explosion in the prison camp in the Russian-occupied Olenivka, which killed at least 53 Ukrainian PoWs.
• The Russians, despite their promise, haven’t yet granted access to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the place where Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in Olenivka.

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