Officials of the self-proclaimed Donetsk “people’s republic” (“DPR”) have accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of carrying out strikes on the village of Olenivka, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were being held. “First deputy minister of information of the DPR” Daniil Bezsonov stated this on his Telegram channel. He did not provide any photo or video proof of the damage.
According to Bezsonov, one of the barracks where the prisoners were being held was struck by missiles possibly launched from HIMARS systems. As a result of the strike, 40 people were killed and 130 were injured, he claims.
Ukraine has not reported any attacks on the village of Olenivka near Donetsk. Kyiv has not commented on the reported death of 40 POWs yet. It is impossible to verify the information provided by the warring sides during an ongoing conflict.
Ukrainian soldiers that had been barricaded at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol were sent to a prison in Olenivka in May. This was reported soon after they had surrendered to the Russian forces. The prison is controlled by the “DPR”.
The evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal started in late May with approval of Russia and Ukraine. Over 2,000 people were transported to “DPR”-controlled territory.
