Conflicts & War

Ukraine asks UN, Red Cross to probe prison attack that killed 40 PoWs

Lviv, Ukraine, Jul 30 (EFE).- Ukraine requested the Red Cross and the United Nations to investigate an attack that killed 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in the country’s east.

“The committed explosion is a cynical terrorist act of the Russian Federation, a military provocation and a typical false flag operation, the purpose of which is to cover up war crimes, discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine, disrupt the supply of Western weapons and increase social tension in Ukrainian society,” Ukrainian authorities, including the army and defense ministry, said in a joint statement.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attack on the prison in Olenivka, located in separatist Donetsk territory behind the front line.

Kyiv accused Moscow of trying to cover up possible war crimes. Pro-Russian separatist forces claimed Ukraine’s army had hit the prison with a United States-made HIMARS missile system.

In the statement, which was released late Friday, Ukraine officials said the fact that the PoWs were transferred to the prison shortly before the strike pointed to it being premeditated

The PoWs were soldiers who had been evacuated from Mariupol in an operation coordinated by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. EFE

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