Russian armed forces carried out a targeted artillery attack on a correctional institution in temporarily occupied Olenivka of the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian military captives were also held.
“This night, Russians killed a part of the ‘Azov’ regiment captives,” reported the founder and first commander of the “Azov” regiment, Andriy Biletsky, in a message on Telegram on July 29. The “Azov” fighters were held in prison in Olenivka, in the Donetsk Region, and were shelled by Russian invaders to hide that they were tortured while in military captivity.
“The Russian command framed the mass killing of captives as the actions of the Ukrainian army,” Andriy Biletsky added.
The Russian forces kept captives from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol imprisoned in Olenivka, along with civilians from Mariupol who did not pass the so-called filtering process by Russian interrogators.
“Propaganda work was carried out – a cannibalistic film about “Azovstal” was shot. We are collecting information about the victims and specific perpetrators of this war crime. Obviously, this was a pre-planned act of a country for which the concept of officer’s honor is unknown, and even more so – compliance with the Geneva Conventions conventions, rules, laws, and customs of war,” reported Andriy Biletsky in his Telegram post.
Biletsky added that he, on behalf of the Azov units, will “hunt for everyone involved in the mass murder.”
“Every rank-and-file performer and every organizer, regardless of position and place of stay, will carry responsibility,” he emphasized.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the shelling was done to accuse Ukraine of committing war crimes and to cover up the torture of captives.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine did not launch any missile or artillery strikes in the area of Olenivka. The Missile Forces and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, thanks to the high-precision weapons received from partner countries, deliver extremely accurate strikes only on Russian military facilities,” the General Staff reported.
The General Staff added that the Russian invaders continue their propaganda methods of carrying out an information war to accuse the Armed Forces of Ukraine of shelling civilian infrastructure and the population while hiding their actions.
