The War Museum hosted an event dedicated to the second anniversary of the terrorist attack in Olenivka. On the night of July 28-29, 2022, 53 Ukrainian soldiers of the Azov Battalion were killed, and more than 130 people were wounded in a strike on the barracks with prisoners of war. All of them were defenders of Azovstal who, with the mediation of international organizations, were taken into an "honorable captivity" and moved to russian-controlled territory. The terrorist country has violated all agreements by treacherously executing Ukrainian defenders and has refused to return the survivors home for more than a year.
The Museum brought together representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the International Committee of the Red Cross Society in Ukraine, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the 12th Brigade Azov of the National Guard, the OLENIVKA Community, liberated prisoners, soldiers, relatives and friends of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The event was organized to create a centralized information platform and establish a communication channel between government representatives, international organizations, and the public. The aim was to facilitate the exchange of information regarding various aspects of the case involving the captured Ukrainian defenders. Participants had the opportunity to discuss the challenges and obstacles faced by relevant agencies in their work, as well as the progress in the investigation of the russian army’s criminal actions and the prospects for the return of the soldiers of the Mariupol garrison to Ukraine.
Ostap Shved, a former prisoner of war in Olenivka who is currently serving in the 12th Brigade Azov of the National Guard, along with Hanna Kisilishyna, the mother of the fallen soldier of the Azov Battalion, Oleksii Kisilishyn, and Tetyana Demchuk, the mother of the wounded prisoner of war, Oleh Demchuk, shared their stories.
Volodymyr Zhemchugov, a museum employee, Hero of Ukraine, and the moderator of the event, informed the audience about the numerous instances of war crimes committed by russians over the past 100 years. The central theme was that the events in Olenivka are not exceptions but rather the norm for russian military units.
Only the cohesion and joint struggle of Ukrainians and the international community can ensure victory over the aggressor and the fair punishment of war criminals.
