The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack in penal colony No. 120 near Olenivka, stressed that the Russian Federation had not allowed UN observers into the territory, and other independent expert analyses had not been conducted.

The press service of the United Nations Ukraine stresses that this week marks two years since the killing of at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and the injury of 151 others at the penal colony No. 120 near Olenivka, in Donetsk region of Ukraine, which remains under occupation by the Russian Federation.

“ …the authorities of the Russian Federation took steps that impeded independent efforts to establish the facts about the explosions at Olenivka. The scene was not preserved but was instead contaminated, with physical evidence disturbed. The Russian Federation did not allow access to UN monitors, nor were any other independent expert analyses conducted. Instead, the Russian authorities declared that the strike was carried out with HIMARS rockets launched by Ukrainian armed forces,” the message reads.

The Mission noted that based on interviews with more than 50 witnesses and survivors, as well as analysis of video and photographic footage, the UN Human Rights Office concluded last year that the explosions were not caused by HIMARS rockets launched by Ukrainian armed forces.

“While the precise type of weapon and its point of origin could not be determined, the pattern of structural damage appeared consistent with a projected ordnance having travelled on an east-to-west trajectory,” the UN noted.

The Mission also emphasizes that the lack of accountability for the deaths and injuries at the penal colony in Olenivka fits into the broader context of widespread and routine torture of Ukrainian POWs. The Russian authorities continue to subject POWs to deplorable conditions of detention, deprive them of healthcare, and allow limited or no contact with family and the outside world.

“The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine continues to interview Ukrainian POWs upon their return to Ukraine, and their families and reiterates its calls for truth and accountability in line with fundamental principles of international humanitarian and human rights law,” the message reads.

As reported, on July 28, 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation staged a thermobaric explosion on the territory of a correctional institution in Olenivka, Donetsk region, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were being held. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, as a result of the explosion, about 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 130 were injured.