UN report reveals Russia's premeditated attack on Olenivka prison, debunking Ukrainian HIMARS claims
In a stunning revelation, a United Nations expert group has issued a report based on an internal analysis concluding that Russia orchestrated and executed the attack on Olenivka prison. This damning finding identifies the Kremlin's deliberate targeting of Olenivka Correctional Colony No. 120 in Volnovakha on the night of July 28 to 29, 2022. The atrocity left more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war dead and around 130 injured, reported Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on his Telegram channel.
Following the explosion, Russia hastily blamed Ukraine, alleging a supposed "HIMARS missile attack." While the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN expressed a willingness to investigate the horrifying incident, the UN's Olenivka fact-finding mission was dissolved five months later, citing insufficient safety assurances.
"Despite repeated attempts to meet with UN mission members to provide evidence held by Ukraine, they never agreed to review it. I even extended an invitation for a joint visit to the scene with the Russian human rights commissioner, but received a rejection," Lubinets lamented. It took a full year for the UN to debunk Russia’s falsehoods by stating the Olenivka attack "was not caused by a HIMARS rocket!" Nevertheless, Lubinets noted, the UN has yet to publicly accuse Russia of terrorism, even with evidence in hand.
"Recently, however, a UN expert group independently published a detailed report with evidence - an internal UN analysis that identified Russia as the planner and perpetrator of the attack. The report specifies the weapons and ammunition deployed by Russian armed forces to execute the massacre of Ukrainian prisoners of war and thoroughly examines the planning, organization, and execution of the killings. It also evaluates the investigations conducted by Russia, Ukraine, and the UN itself, offering forward-looking recommendations for Ukraine," Lubinets concluded.
On July 29, 2022, authorities of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic reported that 47 people perished and 75 were injured, including eight guards, during the shelling of the penal colony.
Later, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian armed forces carried out a targeted, premeditated artillery strike on the detention facility in Olenivka.