Attack on prison in Donbass: Ukraine is said to have killed 40 of its own fighters

Attack on prison in Donbass
Ukraine is said to have killed 40 of its own fighters

In May, Ukrainian prisoners of war are transferred from the port city of Mariupol to the Olenivka detention center in the Donetsk region. According to the pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine is said to have killed dozens of them in an air strike. Kyiv denies that.

Russia and pro-Russian separatists have accused the Ukrainian army of killing dozens of prisoners in an attack on a prison in the Donetsk region. At least 40 “Ukrainian prisoners of war” were killed as a result of the shelling, the separatists and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced in Moscow. The Russian news agency Interfax quoted the separatist leadership in Donetsk as saying that “a direct hit in a barracks with prisoners of war”.

Moscow puts the number of injured at 75. The separatists say 130 prisoners were injured in the shelling. According to them, the number of victims could increase. It is said that people are being searched for under the rubble.

The attack on the Olenivka detention center is said to have been carried out with a HIMARS rocket launcher, which Ukraine had received from the USA. These are considered very precise. Most recently, Ukraine had destroyed several bridges in the Cherson region with the multiple missile system and thus Russian supply lines.

Kyiv denies shelling

Kyiv denies being responsible for the shelling of the detention center. “The armed forces of the Russian Federation targeted artillery shelling at a prison in the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian prisoners were also being held,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. “In this way, the Russian occupiers pursued their criminal goals – to accuse Ukraine of committing ‘war crimes’ and to cover up the torture of prisoners and executions.”

Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian data can be verified independently. Only photos from the city of Ilovaisk, which is around 40 kilometers east of Olenivka, are circulating on social networks. There were also violent explosions there during the night.

Primarily Ukrainian soldiers are being held captive in Olenivka, who fell into the hands of troops loyal to Moscow in May when they captured the port city of Mariupol. Among them are fighters of the Azov regiment. The separatists have threatened them with the death penalty on charges of war crimes. According to media reports, prison conditions in Olenivka are inhumane.

source site-34