Live Updates: Russia’s War in Ukraine

Ukraine demands that the International Committee of the Red Cross immediately send a delegation to the Russian POW camp in Olenivka, in the Russian-occupied region of Donetsk.

Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, posted the call for assignments on the administration’s website.

« At the end of July, as a result of terrorist bombings by the Russian occupiers, more than 50 defenders of Ukraine were killed » in the camp, Yermak told the Red Cross, according to the public message.

CNN recently investigated the bombing of the camp.

The Russian Defense Ministry said a Ukrainian HIMARS rocket attack was responsible for the strike. CNN’s investigation, based on analysis of video and photography from the scene, satellite imagery from before and after the attack, and the work of forensic and weapons experts, concluded that the Russian version of events was most likely a fabrication.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry said it was ready for the Red Cross to visit the camp. But, despite repeated requests from the organization, no visit was ever organised.

Yermak said the conditions in which Ukrainian prisoners are held, and what they face in places of detention in the Russian Federation and in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory, “are extremely important.”

“Therefore, I call for the Red Cross mission with representatives of the international media to arrive in Ukraine no later than three days, even if you do not receive confirmation from Russia by then. And we are sure that Russia is not interested in knowing the truth.

It is unclear how a mission to Olenivka could take place without Russian consent, as the detention center is in Russian-occupied territory.