kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainians called on their government to do more to ensure that Russia release prisoners of war, and expressed their anger Sunday at a ceremony marking the second anniversary of a blast that killed more than 50 people.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered in kyiv’s Independence Square on Sunday to mark two years since an explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainians held by Russia in the Olenivka prison barracks.
Speakers at the solemn ceremony urged the Ukrainian government to work harder to free the soldiers in a prisoner exchange.
The explosion in Olenivka is one of the most painful pages of the war, according to many soldiers.
“I was there in Olenivka. I was shaken by the explosion,” said Sergeant Kyrylo Masalitin, who was later released. “I have never felt so helpless. And those still in captivity feel that helplessness every day. They must know that we have done everything possible to free them.”
Russia has claimed the Olenivka explosion was caused by Ukrainian forces firing a missile that hit the barracks. But mounting evidence suggests Russian forces triggered the blast, according to an Associated Press investigation.
The AP interviewed more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of the details of the attack, including survivors, investigators and relatives of those killed and missing. All of the evidence described points directly to Russia as the culprit. The AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that concluded the same. Despite the internal analysis’ conclusion that Russia planned and carried out the attack, the U.N. has not publicly accused Moscow.
Two years after the explosion, many Ukrainians still want to know exactly how it happened. Sunday’s demonstration brought together people commemorating Olenivka with others protesting the imprisonment of Ukrainian fighters and soldiers who defended the Azovstal steel factory and who Russia captured when it took the city of Mariupol in 2022.
Stanislav said he was one of those who defended Mariupol when the Russians invaded it in February 2022 and was injured in an artillery attack, losing his left arm. He was treated at an army base inside Azovstal before being taken prisoner by Russian forces and later released. After physical rehabilitation, Stanislav returned to the army and now works at military headquarters in Kyiv.
He said he would continue to press for the release of the captive soldiers.
“We are here for a special reason, to see that our brothers in arms in captivity return,” he said. “All those who are in captivity.”
Source: AP
