UN seeks access to Olenivka jail to probe attack that killed 53 Ukrainian POWs: Report

The United Nations is ready to deploy a team of specialists to examine the recent brutal attack on the Olenivka prison colony in the Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, a Russian state news agency reported, citing deputy spokesman of the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq. Further, the Red Cross and the United Nations have requested access to the jail where scores of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) were killed on Saturday; however, Russia has so far remained silent in response. 

Referring to this, UN Chief António Guterres’s deputy spokesperson said, “In connection with the recent tragedy in the Olenivka prison, we are ready to send a team of experts capable of conducting an investigation with the permission of the parties", Kyiv Independent reported. Haq even noted that the UN supports the Red Cross' attempts to secure access to the location and that the investigation would need the permission of all parties. 

According to a New York Post report, the assault on the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Olenivka, which Moscow claims resulted in the deaths of 53 Ukrainian POWs and the injuries of an additional 75, would be investigated by the UN.  

Russia claims Ukraine orchestrated the Olenivka attack

Besides this, Russia asserted that Ukraine had fired the missiles that damaged the facility, while Ukraine argued that the fatal bombardment on Thursday night represented a "war crime." Both sides claim that the attack was preplanned and aimed at silencing the detainees there and eradicating any proof of potential crimes, New York Post reported.  

A list of 48 Ukrainian soldiers who lost their lives in the strike, ranging in age from 20 to 62, was released by the Russian Defense Ministry late on Saturday. Dmytro Lubinets, the Human Rights ombudsman for Ukraine, stated that Russia has not yet indicated when or how the corpses of the deceased troops may be collected. 

Lubinets said, “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”, New York Post reported. He further added, “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.” 

In the meantime, the embattled President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech that the attack was a "deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war", according to media reports. He also urged the United States to list Moscow as a state supporter of terrorism. In order to prevent the perpetrator from committing more war crimes, he called on the Biden administration to act immediately. 

(Image: AP/@sidiomarny/Twitter)