Two years after terrorist attack in Olenivka prison camp: Tributes to fallen soldiers in Ukraine and abroad

Two years ago, the Russian troops committed a terrorist attack in penal colony No. 120 in the village of Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, on the night of 28-29 July, where prisoners of war from Mariupol were held. The Russians transferred the captured fighters of the Azov brigade to a hangar, which was blown up at night. Russian troops killed fifty Ukrainian prisoners of war, and more than 130 others were wounded.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia

Details: Prayer services and actions to honour the victims of Olenivka are being held in different cities of Ukraine and around the world. The Olenivka Community organisation's page published a list of events to be held abroad on the anniversary of the prisoners' execution.

On 28 July, solemn events to honour the victims of the terrorist attack will be held in the following cities in Ukraine: Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Bila Tserkva, Lviv.

The next rallies will be held abroad:

On 28 July:

• Batumi, Georgia: 19:00-21:00, Europe Square;
• Seattle, USA: 18:30, Westlake Park;
• London, UK: 15:00, 10 Downing Street;
• Valletta, Malta: 19:00, on the bridge in front of the city gate;
• Málaga, Spain: 18:30, Plaza de la Constitución;
• Bratislava, Slovakia: 17:00, Hlavné námestie;
• Vienna, Austria: 17:00, Wiener Staatsoper;
• Chicago, USA: 13:00, 410 N Michigan Ave, Wrigley Building;
• Cork, Ireland: 13:00, Grand Parade;
• Sydney, Australia: 13:00, Town Hall;
• Prague, Czechia: 18:00, Staroměstské náměstí;
• Montreal, Canada: 12:00, march from the Russian Consulate to Phillips Square;
• Washington, USA: 18:00-19:30, White House, Lafayette Square;
• Amsterdam, the Netherlands: 14:00-16:00, Dam Square;
• New York, USA: 19:30, Bowling Green.

On 29 July:

• Vilnius, Lithuania: 18:30, Cathedral Square;
• Bergen, Norway: 17:00, Den blå steinen a

On 1 August:

•  Vienna, Austria: 18:00-20:00, Stephansplatz.

The Olenivka Community has named the names of the fallen Mariupol defenders who died in Olenivka.

Quote from Memorial Platform: "These are the defenders of Mariupol who left the Azovstal [steel plant] in May 2022. They (the Russians – ed.) promised to keep them alive, according to an agreement with the Russian side, so the prisoners were to be brought home through an exchange procedure. Instead, they were killed when they were unable to fight back, at night, when they (the Russians) attacked a barracks where the soldiers were sleeping. The exact number of deceased has not yet been established. The investigation is ongoing." 

The Azov Special Forces Brigade emphasises that the crime in Olenivka is a violation of all possible rules of warfare and calls on the world to talk about this Russian attack.

"[The attack in] Olenivka is a crime against humanity, a violation of all possible rules of warfare and treatment of prisoners of war. Russia is relying on the short memory of the international community, on the oblivion of its crimes and its own propaganda.

The more people learn about the occupiers' crimes, the fewer chances Russia has to avoid punishment. Talk about Olenivka. Join us in honouring the victims of the terrorist attack," the brigade's pages call.

Background:

• Olenivka has been occupied by the Russians since 2014. It was there, where some of Azovstal's defenders who left the plant in May 2022 were held in a local former colony.
• Two days before the terrorist attack, the guards transferred the Azov defenders to an industrial hangar on the colony's territory. An explosion occurred in the hangar at around 11:00 pm on 28 July.  The Prosecutor General's Office reports that the explosion was caused by the use of a rocket-propelled thermobaric grenade launcher.
• The Security Service of Ukraine intercepted telephone conversations in which the Russians confirmed that Russian troops were responsible for the explosion in the colony of occupied Olenivka.
• Ukraine managed to bring back the bodies of Ukrainian defenders. Most of them have been identified.
• Russia has not yet allowed any international organisation to visit the site of the tragedy.

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