It wasn't a HIMARS missile: UN releases data from investigation into tragedy in occupied Olenivka colony

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the explosion in the colony in Olenivka, Donetsk region, was not caused by a missile launched from a HIMARS system. Thus, he refuted the lies of the Russian Federation, which claimed that it was Ukraine that allegedly attacked the barracks where its prisoners of war were held.

This was reported on the UN website on Tuesday, 25 July. It took them almost a year to come to this conclusion - the attack in Olenivka took place on the night of 29 July 2022, killing at least 50 Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner by Russia.

At the same time, the UN says that "the exact circumstances of the incident on the night of 28-29 July 2022 remain unclear".

"According to available information, at this stage it is impossible to establish either the specific source of the explosion or the exact direction from which the weapon could have been fired. The Office will continue to monitor the incident in accordance with its experience and authority," they said.

UN representatives say that the aggressor country, Russia, has not provided them with satisfactory guarantees of safe access to the site of the tragedy. To find out what happened that day, the Office's staff talked to the survivors of the attack in Olenivka and conducted a detailed analysis of the additional information received "in accordance with the established methodology".

"Prisoners of war are protected by international humanitarian law. The death or serious injury of prisoners of war must be accompanied by an official and thorough investigation by the state that holds them captive. Any suspicion of criminal behaviour must be investigated promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially and transparently, and those responsible brought to justice," Turk said.

As a reminder, it was the occupiers who arranged an explosion in one of the barracks in Olenivka where Ukrainian soldiers were held. The colony held, among others, the defenders of Mariupol, including members of the Azov regiment.

The explosion killed at least 50 Ukrainian defenders, who were provided with security by the Kremlin and international organisations.

The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that the deaths of about 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the colony of occupied Olenivka, Donetsk region, were allegedly caused by the explosion of a thermobaric munition. Namely, capsules with a combustible mixture for flamethrowers such as "Dzhmil", "Dzhmil-M", " Rys".

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Ukraine managed to return the bodies of prisoners of war who died as a result of a terrorist attack organised by Russia in a colony in the occupied village of Olenivka. Most of the bodies have been identified.

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