Russia invites Red Cross & UN to investigate attack on Ukrainian POWs in Olenivka

A day after a deadly attack on Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka, resulting in the killing of at least 50 POWs, Russia has invited various international humanitarian organisations to conduct an investigation. The major announcement from the Russian federation came as Ukrainian authorities repeatedly accused Moscow of the deadly attack on the POWs. Reacting to the repeated concerns and allegations, the Russian Defence Ministry invited experts from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the site and hold a probe in order to counter the Ukrainian claims, TASS News agency reported on Saturday.

"Russia has officially invited UN and International Committee of the Red Cross experts to engage in an impartial investigation into an attack on a pre-trial detention centre in Yelenovka, which killed a large number of Ukrainian prisoners of war," read the statement released by the ministry.

Earlier in a statement released by Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, he said Ukraine used a US-made HIMARS rocket to shell the pre-trial detention centre, where surrendered Ukrainian soldiers were kept. "40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 75 wounded. In addition, eight employees of the pre-trial detention centre received injuries of different severity," Sputnik reported citing the ministry on Friday. However, the death toll climbed to 53 on Saturday and the number of injured surpassed 130, according to an update released by the DPR territorial defence. The ministry called the Ukrainian attack a "flagrant provocation" aimed at intimidating Ukrainian soldiers who think about surrendering.

Zelenskyy too urged Red Cross to investigate 'Russian war crime'

On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday, denounced the "Russian attack" on Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka. He termed the attack a "deliberate war crime" intended to kill the Ukrainian troops who reportedly surrendered during the Russian attack on Mariupol on the Azov Sea. Also, he urged the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to act judiciously to safeguard Ukrainian POWs from further Russian attacks.

According to Zelenskyy, Ukrainian diplomats brought the information about the Russian attack on Olenivka to the highest international level and added that all participants in international relations knew what really happened. "Russia won't be able to lie to anyone," he stressed. He even appealed to the United States to declare Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and added the Biden administration must take a concrete step to prevent the aggressor from committing further war crimes. 

Image: AP