VR calls on international community to recognize mass execution of POWs in Olenivka as terrorist attack

In its statement, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has urged the international community to recognize the mass execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk Region’s Olenivka as a terrorist attack and Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

A total of 316 Members of Parliament voted in favor of relevant resolution No. 7627, an Ukrinform correspondent reports, referring to the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The Verkhovna  Rada of Ukraine addressed the United Nations, the European Union, the European Council, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Parliaments and Governments of NATO member states, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), condemning the cynical killing of the Ukrainian POWs, the defenders of Mariupol, which was committed by Russia in Olenivka on the night of July 29, 2022.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine urged the UN and the ICRC, which acted as the guarantors of the life and safety of Ukrainian POWs, to immediately send an inspection mission to the Olenivka correctional facility, which is situated within the temporarily occupied area of Donetsk Region and, in cooperation with the OSCE, to take measures in order to constantly monitor the confinement conditions of all the Ukrainian POWs.

In addition, Parliament called on the UN, the ICRC and MSF to make every effort to unconditionally release female medics from Russian captivity, including pregnant and wounded women.

The Verkhovna Rada also urged the international institutions to intensify efforts to ensure the exchange and return of the Ukrainian POWs, the defenders of Mariupol, to Ukraine, as Ukraine’s only efforts do not produce the necessary results in this regard.

Parliament insists that the international community recognize Russia’s actions against Ukrainian POWs in Olenivka as a terrorist attack and Russia as a terrorist state, and increase pressure on the Russian Federation and its partner countries that support the terrorist regime.

A reminder that, on the night of July 29, 2022, a powerful explosion took place within former Correctional Facility No. 210 in Donetsk Region’s Olenivka, where Russian occupiers kept Ukrainian POWs. At least 53 Ukrainian defenders were reported killed and over 70 seriously injured.

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