On 29 July 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a building housing Ukrainian prisoners of war in a Russian-operated prison in Molodizhne near Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, was destroyed, killing 53 to 62 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and leaving 75 to 130 wounded. The prisoners were mainly soldiers from the Azovstal complex, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the siege of Mariupol.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the Russians blew up the barracks in order to cover up the torture and murder of Ukrainian POWs that had been taking place there, and Ukrainian authorities provided what they said were satellite images of pre-dug graves and intercepted communications indicating Russian culpability, while Russians suggested that a HIMARS rocket was shot from Ukrainian territory. According to a CNN investigation based on the work of forensic and weapons experts, the Russian version of events is very likely fabrication and disinformation, as there is virtually no chance that the damage was caused by a HIMARS rocket.
On 3 August, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres announced his decision to establish a fact-finding mission, as requested both by Russia and Ukraine. However, Russia refused to cooperate with the UN and International Red Cross, and the fact-finding mission was disbanded. (More on Wikipedia)
Ministry: Ukraine retrieves bodies of 54 soldiers killed in Olenivka prison massacre.
by The Kyiv Independent news desk
January 12, 2023
The bodies of 54 fallen defenders of Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast have been returned to Ukraine in a transfer organized with the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and their DNA is now being examined, the Reintegration Ministry reported on Jan. 12 2023.
Over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed by an explosion in Russian-occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, on July 29 2022.
Ukraine said that, days before the attack, Russians singled out Ukrainian members of the well-known Azov Regiment, who were captured in Mariupol and were awaiting a prisoner exchange, to a separate part of the prison building – the one that was destroyed.
Ukrainian authorities said that Russia either hit the prison with artillery or blew it up from inside. According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Russia likely used a thermobaric munition at the Olenivka prison.
Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking the prison with HIMARS, a high-precision rocket system.
October 2023
UN report officially rejects Russian claim that HIMARS caused Olenivka prison explosions
CNN’s David McKenzie reports on the continuing investigation into the attack.
