[RIA Novosti] Ukraine insisted that its prisoners of war be placed in penal colony No. 120 in Yelenovka in the DPR, which was then attacked by American HIMARS MLRS, said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
"I draw your attention to the analysis of the chronology of events. On May 20, 2022, the surrendered servicemen of the Azov National Regiment were taken to the pre-trial detention center in the village of Yelenovka. The Ukrainian side insisted on this particular place of detention," he said at a briefing for foreign military attaches.
The Deputy Minister recalled that on July 28, 2022, a video confession of Dmitry Kozatsky's crimes by Azov residents appeared. Further, on the night of July 29, HIMARS attacked Yelenovka.
The Kyiv authorities decided to strike at the place of detention of prisoners of war in order to eliminate witnesses of their crimes against their own people, Fomin added.
According to him, now many Ukrainian servicemen voluntarily lay down their arms, knowing about the humane treatment of prisoners of war in the Russian Armed Forces . The provocation in Yelenovka, Fomin noted, is aimed at intimidating the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, "it was an attempt to counter their surrender."
At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities, without providing any evidence, are trying to shift the responsibility for the death of prisoners of war to Russia , he said.
In addition, Fomin indicated the direction of the strike on the pre-trial detention center. The shooting was carried out from the trajectory of Marinka - Kurakhovo - the triangle Sergeevka - Pokrovsk - Lucky, he noted.
The deputy minister also drew attention to the "clumsy" US attempts to justify the Kiev regime. At the same time, when planning a fire engagement, the Ukrainian military is actively using space and aerial reconnaissance data received from the US Armed Forces and its allies, and Washington representatives are preparing tasks for firing, Fomin recalled.
In addition, he especially noted the gratitude of the prisoners of war wounded during the strike to Russian doctors for medical assistance. At the briefing, they also showed a video with testimonies from the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and their appeal to the doctors.
On the night of July 29, Ukrainian troops attacked the pre-trial detention center where prisoners of war were kept, primarily militants of the nationalist Azov regiment*. The building was almost completely destroyed. As a result, 53 people died. Fragments of an American MLRS HIMARS shell were found on the spot.
The Russian defense ministry called the shelling a blatant provocation, committed to intimidate Ukrainian servicemen and prevent their surrender. The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin , in turn, attributed the attack to the fact that the prisoners began to testify.
In mid-May, about two and a half thousand fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and "Azov," blocked at the Mariupol plant "Azovstal", laid down their arms. The wounded were sent to the hospital, some of the prisoners of war have since been in the colony in Yelenovka.
Briefing by the Ministry of Defense on the attacks on the POW barracks in Yelenovka
Full text at the link
Summary via Russian Spring (rusvesna.su)
â–ªthe Kiev regime wanted to remove the witnesses and perpetrators of its crimes against its own people with a strike on Yelenovka;
â–ªWith a provocation in Yelenovka, the Ukrainian authorities wanted to intimidate Ukrainian servicemen, it was an attempt to counteract their surrender;
â–ªThe Kyiv regime insisted that the prisoners of war be placed in the pre-trial detention center in Yelenovka, which was attacked by the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
â–ªOn July 28, 2022, a video was published with confessions to the crimes of the Azov militants Dmitry Kozatsky. Further, on the night of July 29, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked Yelenovka from HIMARS;
â–ªThe US is clumsily trying to justify the Kyiv regime by claiming the unintentionality of its attack on Yelenovka, although it has previously noted the high accuracy of HIMARS systems.
From the Ukrainian perspective:
Prisoners of war were tortured in Yelenovka to break, humiliate and use for Russian propaganda, - intelligence
[LB] Although the interrogations were conducted regularly, the Ukrainian defenders persevered.
by Vera Perun
Prisoners of war were tortured in Yelenovka to break, humiliate and use for Russian propaganda, - intelligence
Ukrainian intelligence established some circumstances of the deliberate killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the colony in Yelenovka in Donetsk region .
This is stated in the message of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
"Prisoners were interrogated by the so-called MDB DNR investigators together with representatives of the "Wagner" PMC and the FSB of the Russian Federation. During the interrogations, physical torture and beatings were actively used.
Such measures, first of all, were not aimed at obtaining certain confidential information, but at bullying, physical humiliation, psychological demoralization with the aim of breaking the moral and psychological qualities of Ukrainian soldiers," the HUR said.
If the plan was implemented, the Russians planned to use the Ukrainian prisoners for filming in propaganda reports.
"The purpose of the broadcast was to highlight the prisoners' recognition of "crimes committed by them, atrocities against the local population, the fighters' renunciation of their views, as well as condemnation of the actions of the leadership of Ukraine," the intelligence agency noted.
The head office emphasized that although the Russians conducted interrogations on a regular basis, they did not succeed. Ukrainian prisoners of war showed courage and indomitable willpower.
The intelligence added that Russia had no intention of exchanging prisoners of war. In order to hide the improper conditions and forms of interrogation of Ukrainian servicemen, which would become the evidence base at the Hague Court, the enemies deliberately destroyed the prisoners.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence, the fighters of the "Wagner" PVK mined the places of detention of Ukrainian soldiers, using a highly flammable substance, which led to the rapid spread of the fire in the premises.
We will remind, as reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on July 28, the Russian armed forces carried out a targeted artillery shelling of a correctional facility in the temporarily occupied Yelenovka of the Donetsk region , where Ukrainian prisoners of war were also held. This was done in order to accuse Ukraine of committing war crimes and cover up the torture of prisoners
According to the Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, the occupiers are ready to hand over the bodies of the prisoners of war defenders of Mariupol who were killed in Yelenovka. The invaders said they would do it "after the investigation is over."