Ukraine’s Ombudsman Demands Investigation into Olenivka Massacre from UN and ICRC

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets called on the UN and ICRC to "fulfill their mandate and investigate the terrorist attack" that Russia launched on the night of July 29, 2022, in Olenivka, killing over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war and injuring around 130.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets demands that the UN mission resume its work as soon as possible or that a new mission be created.

Russia imprisoned in Olenivka mainly Ukrainians from Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant who had surrendered to Russian forces. Ukraine appealed to the UN and ICRC as guarantors of the agreements regarding the defenders of Azovstal. The arrangements stipulated that their lives would be spared and later exchanged.

Various organizations expressed readiness to investigate the terrorist act. On August 3, 2022, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the organization is preparing a group of experts for this. After 5 months, he disbanded the mission due to a lack of security guarantees.

On the Olenivka tragedy commemoration day, the Ombudsman's Office hosted an event "A Year After the Tragedy in Olenivka: Crime without Punishment." 

“I continue to raise the topic of the importance of investigating this terrorist attack at international meetings,” Lubinets wrote. “I call on the UN and the ICRC to fulfill their mandate and investigate the mass murder in Olenivka. This crime will not be forgotten!”

Significant progress has been made in the investigation into the Olenivka prison massacre. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has identified key figures involved in the mass killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka.