Ukraine calls on ICC to issue arrest warrants for Russians responsible for Olenivka terrorist attack
Photo: The terrorist attack in Olenivka is one of the most horrific crimes committed by the Russian Federation (screenshot/Russian media)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for all those responsible for the deliberate killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka.
"Today marks the third anniversary of the horrific targeted killing in Olenivka. On July 29, 2022, Russia deliberately killed more than 50 Ukrainian PoWs and injured over 150 others in a planned act of terror. These were defenders of Ukraine who had laid down their arms and were supposed to be protected by international humanitarian law," the Foreign Minister recalls.
He calls on the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants as soon as possible for all those involved in this crime, both the perpetrators and those who gave the orders and covered up the terrorist attack.
Sybiha also stresses the importance of establishing a Special Tribunal to investigate Russia's crime of aggression against Ukraine.
According to him, only by considering the root crime — the unprovoked Russian war — can full accountability be achieved for all the atrocities that resulted from this aggression.
"The world must not forget and it must not look away. Justice for Olenivka is not optional—it is a moral and legal imperative," the Minister adds.
Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka
On the night of July 28-29, 2022, Russian troops organized an explosion at a colony in Olenivka, Donetsk region, where Ukrainian prisoners of war, including defenders of Azovstal, were being held.
As a result of this war crime committed by the Russians, at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed, and another 130 were wounded to varying degrees.
According to intercepted conversations, Russian troops deliberately organized the terrorist attack to disrupt the prisoner exchange process. Ukrainian special services also have satellite images showing pre-prepared graves near the penal colony, confirming the deliberate nature of the crime.
In July 2023, it became known that Ukraine had returned the bodies of the deceased defenders. According to the Verkhovna Rada's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, most of them have been identified.
