Standing regime, rotting legs, and information vacuum: the conditions in which the russian federation tortures survivors of Olenivka
Kyiv • UNN
46 Ukrainian prisoners of war who survived the explosion in Olenivka continue to be held in russia without proper medical care. Relatives have called on the authorities to take decisive action, reporting torture and fabricated sentences.
More than four years after the bloody terrorist attack in Olenivka, 46 severely wounded Ukrainian prisoners of war who survived the explosion in "barracks No. 200" continue to be held in Russian dungeons without proper medical care and under the threat of fabricated sentences in criminal cases. This was stated during a press conference on July 28 by representatives of the public organization "Olenivka Community," which unites the families of fallen and wounded defenders of Mariupol, reports UNN.
The relatives of the captives have obtained new testimony about the prisoners and called on the head of state to take decisive action.
46 mutilated defenders: why the exchange of the wounded is at a standstill
During the explosion on the night of July 29, 2022, in the so-called "barracks No. 200," there were 193 Ukrainian servicemen. 48 defenders died in the explosion. Subsequently, the Russian side officially published a list that included 71 seriously wounded prisoners. Three of them died on the way to hospitals, and 69 captives were hospitalized.
Over all the following years, only 23 people from this publicly recognized by Russia list of seriously wounded have been freed. The fate of another 46 crippled soldiers remains unchanged — they have been in Russian captivity for the fifth year, where their condition worsens every day.
As noted by Anna Lobova, a representative of the NGO "Olenivka Community," the claim that Russia allegedly refuses to hand over the survivors as important witnesses to the crime is false.
These people (the soldiers who survived the explosion of the barracks in Olenivka, - ed.) remember absolutely nothing except that they went to sleep and woke up from injuries or very strong flames. They have typical injuries, they remember absolutely nothing. They are not witnesses, they are the main victims
Anna Lobova emphasized that the prisoners from Olenivka are crippled, and the time they have lost in captivity cannot be restored. After all, even operations will not return the wounded defenders of Mariupol to a full life.
In addition, the wife of a prisoner of war focused on the following:
"The claim that the Russians are not giving anyone back is refuted by how 193 prisoners were returned from Chechnya. But our crippled boys, who are many times fewer, have not been exchanged for years," she said.
Note that according to the NGO, out of a total of 193 people who were in barracks No. 200, 49 people have been freed to date (including those who remained in the temporary detention facility). The names of another 12–13 captives have not yet been established.
Who compiled the lists for the "death barracks": new witnesses and data for the SBU
The relatives of the prisoners complained that they are forced to investigate the tragedy in Olenivka on their own.
Representatives of the public organization said they discovered public testimony from a former prisoner of war who confirmed that the lists for transferring captives to "barracks No. 200" were prepared in advance and adjusted. According to this data, the lists were taken directly to the head of the colony by a former Ukrainian prisoner of war who was held in barracks No. 7–8 and who participated in their arrangement.
All new materials and data in the case have already been transferred by the relatives of the prisoners to the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General.
We, as the families of the prisoners of war who were blown up in Olenivka, are victims in open criminal proceedings. Despite this, for 4 years we have been forced to independently search for new information, establish the circumstances of the tragedy, and find witnesses
Standing regime, rotting legs, and 38 fabricated sentences: the conditions in which the captives from Olenivka live
The situation of the surviving prisoners in Olenivka is currently catastrophic. The captives are kept in complete information isolation, without the right to correspondence or parcels. Moreover, the aggressor country is massively fabricating criminal cases against them under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — "terrorism."
As reported by Maria Klymyk, co-head of the Department for the Protection of the Rights of Servicemen and Their Families of the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), dozens of falsified proceedings are currently known.
According to our data, from "barrack 200" of those still in captivity, 38 "Azov" members have been sentenced or have ongoing court cases. But we know there are many more closed cases, as Russia has closed its court registries. Practically every one of them is facing criminal prosecution — some have already been handed a third case. They (captured Ukrainian soldiers, - ed.) are scattered across almost all of Russia. There are even in absentia verdicts for "barrack 200" for those released back in September 2022
The defenders' wives also shared tragic details about their husbands' health. According to them, the prisoners are kept under a strict "standing regime" — they are allowed to sit only three times a day during meals for 20 minutes. As a result, people with unhealed wounds and shrapnel in their spines have swollen and festering legs.
My husband was being prepared for trials in the Perm region. He went into captivity already from the battles for Mariupol with a severe injury, and in Olenivka he received a second one. The shrapnel is still in his spine. They are allowed to sit three times a day for 20 minutes during meals — the rest of the time they stand. His legs are blue and swollen. They hold on there only by the hope that they are being fought for and awaited
Anna Lobova, in turn, added that the defenders of Mariupol went into captivity after fierce battles and after starvation at Azovstal.
This is torture when we cannot find a solution for their rescue. They have a standing regime, their legs are rotting — both the young and the elderly. Morally, psychologically, people there are already losing hope
The murder of prisoners of war in Olenivka: what you need to know about this crime of Russia
The tragedy at Volnovakha Correctional Colony No. 120 near the occupied settlement of Olenivka in Donetsk region, controlled by Russian troops, became one of the most cynical and brutal war crimes of the Russian Federation against Ukrainian prisoners of war.
On the night of July 28-29, 2022, as a result of a planned explosion of a barrack, at least 53 Ukrainian defenders were killed, most of whom were fighters of the special purpose unit "Azov", who were withdrawn from the territory of the Azovstal plant. More than 130 soldiers suffered severe injuries, mutilations, and thermal burns.
The materials collected over the years by international organizations and Ukrainian investigative bodies allow us to reconstruct the full picture of this crime and refute the manipulations of the aggressor country.
According to available investigation data, the explosion was preceded by thorough preparation on the part of the occupation administration. The day before the tragedy, Ukrainian prisoners of war were massively and directly, on the orders of the institution's leadership, transferred to a separately located building in the colony's industrial zone — the so-called "barrack No. 200".
As established by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, immediately before the explosion, the Russian colony guards took extraordinary measures for their own safety. The guards changed and moved their observation posts, put on personal protective equipment, including bulletproof vests and helmets, and also moved to a safe distance from the building where the prisoners were held. This indicates that the occupiers had prior information about the upcoming explosion and deliberately set a trap for unarmed people.
Immediately after the terrorist attack, the Russian Ministry of Defense spread disinformation that the colony had allegedly been shelled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine using American HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems. With the help of this fake, the Kremlin wanted to shift the blame for the death of the prisoners onto the Ukrainian side and stop the supply of Western weapons to Ukrainian soldiers.
However, a thorough analysis of the evidence completely refuted Russian propaganda. Official reports from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that the explosion was not caused by a HIMARS missile. UN experts studied in detail the nature of the building's destruction, the condition of the roof, walls, and window openings, as well as the location and damage of the bunk beds inside the premises. At the scene, there is a complete absence of a crater, which is inevitably formed when a heavy rocket projectile hits.
In addition, analysis of available photo and video materials showed that the munition penetrated the roof along a trajectory from east to west, or the detonation occurred directly inside the barracks.
UN experts also emphasized that the Russian side deliberately compromised the crime scene by failing to ensure its integrity for an independent investigation and allowing Kremlin propagandists access before experts.
Currently, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings under the article on violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder. Based on comprehensive forensic explosive and ballistic examinations, investigators determined that the explosion occurred after the Russians used a rocket-propelled thermobaric grenade launcher or the detonation of a pre-placed thermobaric explosive device.
In parallel, the Security Service of Ukraine notified the former leadership of the Olenivka colony of suspicions. The occupation administration is accused not only of systematic torture of prisoners, but also of deliberately delaying evacuation and failing to provide emergency medical care to wounded soldiers immediately after the explosion, which led to an increase in the number of victims.
For its part, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights violations and crimes at the Olenivka colony, officially establishing the responsibility of the institution's leadership for the deaths of captives.
The Russian Federation, for its part, has consistently resisted conducting an objective international investigation. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, despite numerous official demands and the norms of the Geneva Conventions, were never granted access to the site of the tragedy or to the wounded prisoners of war.
The attempt to organize an independent inspection under the auspices of the United Nations ended similarly. In August 2022, the UN Secretary-General announced the creation of a Special Fact-Finding Mission in Olenivka. However, in January 2023, the mission was forced to disband due to the lack of security guarantees for experts and the categorical refusal of the Russian side to grant access to the colony's territory.