KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians have urged their government to do more to achieve Russia to free prisoners of war, expressing their anger on Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50.
Several thousand soldiers and civilians gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square on Sunday to commemorate the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainians Russia held in the Olenivka prison barracks.
Speakers at the solemn ceremony urged the Ukrainian government to work harder to free soldiers in a prisoner exchange.
The Olenivka explosion was one of the most painful pages of the war, according to many soldiers.
“I was there in Olenivka. I was shaken by the explosion,” said the sergeant. Kyrylo Masalitin, who was later released. “Never before have I felt so helpless. And those who are still in captivity feel this helplessness every day. They must know that we did everything we could to free them.”
Russia said the Olenivka explosion was caused by Ukrainian forces firing a missile that hit the prison barracks. But mounting evidence suggests that Russian forces triggered the explosion, according to an Associated Press investigation.
The AP interviewed more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of the details of the attack, including survivors, investigators and family members of the dead and missing. They believe that all the evidence described points directly to Russia as the culprit. The AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that concluded the same. Despite the conclusion of the internal analysis that concluded that Russia planned and carried out the attack, the UN did not accuse Russia in public statements.
Two years after the explosion, many Ukrainians still want to know exactly how it happened. Sunday’s demonstration brought together people celebrating Olenivka with others protesting Russia’s arrest of Ukrainian fighters who defended the Azovstal steel plant and were taken prisoner when Russia seized the city of Mariupol.
Many were also pushing for the release of Ukrainian soldiers who defended the Avovstal steel plant and were captured when Mariupol fell in 2022.
“We are here to remember those who died and also those who are in captivity. We are here to pressure our government to work hard on this,” said a soldier who gave his name as Stanislav.
He said he was a defender of Mariupol when the Russians invaded in February 2022 and was injured in an artillery attack, losing his left arm. He was treated at the military base inside the Azovstal steelworks before being captured by Russian forces and later released. After physical rehabilitation, Stanislav returned to the army and now works at the military headquarters in Kiev.
He said he will continue to press for the release of captive soldiers.
“We are here for a special reason, to bring back our brothers in arms in captivity,” he said.
