The action commemorating the victims of Olenivka, which was to take place on Independence Square in Kyiv on July 28, and the rally against the resignation of former Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov, scheduled for Franko Square, were canceled due to security concerns.
This was reported by Dmytro Koziatynsky, a former combat medic of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion and initiator of the rallies against Fedorov’s resignation.
"Today’s action in memory of the Olenivka victims was canceled due to missile danger. Please, if possible, also refrain from going to Franko Square today. Instead, accumulate your strength for Friday’s march. Take care of yourselves!" Koziatynsky said on Facebook.
Earlier, the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders also announced the cancellation of the memorial event dedicated to the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack in Olenivka.
"We are extremely sorry to make this decision, as this event was planned long before July 28, and we put a lot of effort into honoring the memory of our fallen Defenders together. However, today the safety of everyone who was to join the action is of the utmost importance. In conditions of the constant threat of massive Russian shelling, we cannot expose people to danger," the statement reads.
As reported, in the night from July 28 to 29, 2022, Russian troops carried out one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in the modern history of Ukraine—an explosion at colony No. 120 in the settlement of Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region. As a result of the attack, which destroyed the barracks housing Ukrainian prisoners of war, at least 53 defenders of Mariupol were killed, and more than 130 were injured. Most of them were Azovstal heroes who, obeying the order of the high command, came out of encirclement with the hope of preserving life in accordance with international guarantees. However, instead of protection, they received death.
On July 28, Ukraine marks an important commemorative date—the Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Ukraine, members of volunteer formations, and civilians who were executed, tortured, or died in captivity. This day was approved by the Verkhovna Rada by resolution No. 4558-IX of July 22, 2025, as a response to a public initiative and a national duty to honor heroes who became victims of brutal captivity and war crimes committed by Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement on the anniversary of the tragedy, emphasizing that the Olenivka terrorist attack was a deliberate, targeted, and barbaric crime by Russia in violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949.
"The mass murder of prisoners, torture, ill-treatment, and inhuman detention conditions are grave breaches of international humanitarian law and war crimes for which the perpetrators must face inevitable punishment," the statement reads.
On Friday, July 31, at 19:00, a protest march for dialogue and reforms in the defense sector is planned in Kyiv. The march will start from the Shevchenko monument in Shevchenko Park and finish at Ivan Franko Square.
