The International Committee of the Red Cross has not received confirmation that it will be allowed to visit the detention center where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were killed in an explosion, the organization said in a statement on Sunday.
At least 50 prisoners were killed and dozens injured in an explosion on Thursday evening in the Russian-occupied town of Olenivka in Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine. Many were prisoners of war who surrendered in May after the Russian siege of the Mariupol steelworks. They are considered national heroes in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the blast, with Ukrainian authorities calling for an international investigation.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it would allow the ICRC and the United Nations to visit the site of the explosion. There was no immediate comment from the UN, which said it was ready to send experts for an investigation when both sides agree.
However, the ICRC said hours later that – although it requested access to the site, the injured and the dead as soon as it learned of the attack – it had still not received confirmation that the access would be granted.
He noted in a statement that all parties to the conflict have an obligation under international law to give the ICRC access to prisoners of war.
“We are ready to deploy to Olenivka,” the ICRC said, adding that it already had medical, forensic and humanitarian teams in the surrounding area. “It is imperative that the ICRC obtain immediate access to the Olenivka settlement and other places where the wounded and dead could have been transferred.
The Olenivka settlement is a few miles from the frontline in Donetsk, where fighting intensified after a brief lull in July after the Russians took control of almost all of neighboring Lugansk province .
Recently released prisoners from the Olenivka camp described torture and hellish conditions. US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink said on Sunday the attack and reports of “barbaric treatment” of POWs were unconscionable.
“We will continue to seek accountability and give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself against the horrific aggression from Moscow,” she said. said on Twitter.
nytimes Gt