Russian Defense Ministry: Russia invited the UN and the Red Cross to investigate the attack on the pre-trial detention center in Yelenovka
Russia has officially invited experts from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate the attack on the pre-trial detention center in Yelenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), where captured Ukrainian soldiers were killed. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Telegram-channel.
The Russian Federation, in the interests of conducting an objective investigation of the attack on the pre-trial detention center in Yelenovka, which led to the death of a large number of Ukrainian prisoners of war, officially invited experts from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross
What happened in Yelenovka?
On July 29, the Russian Ministry of Defense informed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a missile attack on the detention center in Yelenovka, where Ukrainian prisoners of war, including soldiers of the Azov Battalion, were kept. At the site of the shelling of the prison, fragments of HIMARS MLRS ammunition were found, some of them preserved parts of the numbers. Since the end of June, HIMARS have been used by Ukrainian troops against Russian and allied forces.
This egregious provocation was committed to intimidate Ukrainian servicemen and prevent them from being taken prisoner.
As a result of the incident, 50 out of 193 Ukrainians who were in the pre-trial detention center were killed. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the United States were responsible for the HIMARS attack on the Yelenovka colony.
The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the fact of a missile strike under Article 356 of the Criminal Code (“Use of prohibited means and methods in an armed conflict”).
Related materials:
The Armed Forces of Ukraine deny the attacks on the prison in Yelenovka and blame the Russian army for what happened. They said that Moscow is allegedly trying to hide the torture and murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war held in pre-trial detention centers in this way.
In turn, the first deputy permanent representative of Russia to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, called futile attempts to shift the blame for the attack on the prison to Moscow.
The Ukrainian Nazis are making futile attempts to shift the blame for this crime onto us. If they were smarter, they could use something other than the US-provided HIMARS MLRS to fire
International reaction
Commenting on the strike on the pre-trial detention center, a Pentagon spokesman admitted that the strike could have been carried out by Ukrainian forces. At the same time, he noted that even in this case, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to do this intentionally.
If it was a blow from the Ukrainian side, I assure you, they didn’t want to do it.
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, declined to comment on the incident, citing a lack of intelligence.
Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary General, gave a similar answer, saying that they did not have first-hand information. At the same time, he noted that the organization is concerned about the shelling. At the same time, he stressed that the UN is ready to send experts to investigate the missile attack on the colony.
Related materials:
The former French ambassador to Moscow, Sylvie Bermann, who served in this position from 2017 to 2019, said that Russia and the Donbass republics had no reason to strike at the prison in Yelenovka, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were kept.
Commenting on her position, the diplomat pointed out that the prisoners were waiting for a trial, which could lead to death sentences. Doubting the Ukrainian version of the attack on the pre-trial detention center, Bermann pointed out that there was no need to kill prisoners of war in this way.
The retired colonel of the French marines Michel Goya did not agree with the version of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He noted that “it is not very clear now” why the Russians or their allies would attack a prison under their control, given that the planned process could “show the presence of Nazis in the ranks of the Ukrainian army.”
#Russia #invited #Red #Cross #investigate #attack #pretrial #detention #center #Yelenovka