Several thousand soldiers and civilians gathered at Kyiv’s Independence Square on Sunday to commemorate the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainians held by Russia in the Olenivka prison barracks.
ADVERTISEMENTThousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians gathered at Kyiv’s Independence Square on Sunday to commemorate the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainians detained by Russia in the Olenivka prison barracks.
Speakers at the ceremony urged the Ukrainian government to work harder to get soldiers freed in prisoner exchanges.
The Olenivka explosion was one of the most painful pages in the history of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to many soldiers.
“I was there in Olenivka. I was rocked by the explosion,” said Sgt. Kyrylo Masalitin, who was later released.
“Never before have I felt so helpless. And those still in captivity feel that helplessness every day. They must know that we have done everything we can do to get them released.”
As Masaltin spoke at the event, more than 300 soldiers of Ukraine’s Azov brigade stood behind him in formation. They recited a prayer and held flares to honour their fallen comrades.
Russia claimed the explosion at the Olenivka barracks was caused by Kyiv’s forces firing at a missile, but increasing evidence instead suggests that Russia was responsible for setting off the explosion, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.
The AP interviewed more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of details of the attack, including survivors, investigators and families of the dead and missing.
Evidence pointed directly to Russia as the culprit. An internal United Nations analysis found the same.
Despite the conclusion of the internal analysis that found Russia planned and executed the attack, the U.N. stopped short of accusing Russia in public statements.
Two years after the explosion, many Ukrainians still want to know exactly how it happened.
The demonstration on Sunday united Ukrainians who commemorated Olenivka with others who are protesting Russia’s imprisonment of Ukrainian fighters who defended steel works and were imprisoned after Russia seized Mariupol.
The event in the centre of Kyiv drew together many families, including the mothers, wives and children of soldiers who were killed at Olenivka or are currently imprisoned by Russia
At least 900 soldiers from the Azov brigade are held as prisoners of war by Russia.