EU: Russia has still not allowed ICRC to visit Olenivka

“The blast in Olenivka resulting in the death of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including defenders of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant who had surrendered to Russia, is a heinous act and must be thoroughly and independently investigated,” reads the statement by the EU delegation made at a meeting of the OSCE Special Permanent Council meeting in Vienna, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The EU noted that the prisoners were registered by the ICRC and were under Russia’s legal protection.

“Twelve days have passed since the tragedy and Russia has still not allowed an independent international mission to visit Olenivka. We urge Russia to grant the ICRC access to all prisoners of war,” the delegation said.

The EU delegation said they were appalled by a video, widely shared on social media, of heinous atrocities and brutal killing of a Ukrainian prisoner of war.

“Russia will also be held accountable for failing to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law in the territories of Ukraine under its temporary military control. This also applies to the treatment of prisoners of war,” the EU stressed.

As reported, on the night of July 29, a powerful explosion rocked the building where Ukrainian POWs were held in the territory of former penal colony No. 210 in Olenivka, temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region. According to the Russian side, about 50 Ukrainian defenders were killed, and more than 70 were seriously injured. According to the preliminary conclusions of international experts, the explosion was the result of the use of thermobaric weapons by the aggressor country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba called on the UN to visit the colony in Olenivka to establish all the facts of the crime committed by Russian troops and urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to check all Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The occupying forces in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region denied the Ukrainian branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross access to prisoners of war in Olenivka, which is a direct violation of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions.

In addition, at the end of July, a video appeared on the Internet showing persons in Russian military uniform torturing a prisoner in Ukrainian military uniform.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin took personal control over the investigation into the brutal torture and murder of a Ukrainian soldier.

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