2 years after Ukrainian POW prison attack, survivors and leaked UN analysis point to Russia as culprit
Voice of America
FILE - Journalists visit the destroyed barracks at the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison holding Ukrainian POWs in eastern Ukraine, Aug. 10, 2022. Russia blamed Ukraine at the time but interviews with survivors and an internal U.N. analysis point to Russia as the culprit. FILE - Tetiana Poltorak, left, and Tetiana Artemenko place flags to honor Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in the Olenivka region at a memorial site near the Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 5, 2023. FILE - This image from video shows the damaged barracks at the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison in Olenivka, eastern Ukraine, on July 29, 2022. FILE - Soldiers lower the coffin of Andrii Konyaev during his funeral in Fastiv, Ukraine, on May 23, 2023. He and more than 50 Ukrainians died in the July 29, 2022, explosions at Olenivka, a Russia-controlled prison camp in eastern Ukraine. FILE - People hold signs outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 29, 2023, to mark the anniversary of the explosions at the Russian-controlled prison barracks in Olenivka, eastern Ukraine, which killed dozens of Ukrainian POWs.
The former prisoners of war still puzzle over the strange events leading up to the night now seared into their memories, when an explosion ripped through the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison barracks and killed so many comrades two years ago.
Municipal employees place caution tape to restrict access for tourists due to recent seismic activities in Oia village on the Greek island of Santorini, Feb. 5, 2025. Fire service rescuers arrive at the airport of the earthquake-hit island of Santorini, Greece, Feb. 5, 2025. A passenger sits on the dock while waiting for a ferry bound for the Greek mainland, in the earthquake-struck island of Santorini, Greece, Feb. 4, 2025.
A man sits beside the wreckage of burnt military supply vehicles used by suspected Islamic State fighters in the Cal Miskaad mountain range in Bari, east of the Gulf of Aden in the city of Bosaso, Puntland region, Somalia, Jan. 25, 2025. Puntland Security Forces parade newly trained soldiers and equipment to combat Islamic State in Somalia's Puntland region, Jan. 30, 2025. Puntland security forces patrol after capturing Islamic State bases in the Cal Miskaad mountain range in Bari, east of the Gulf of Aden in the city of Bosaso, Puntland region, Somalia, Jan. 25, 2025.
A U.S. military plane deporting Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar, India Feb. 5, 2025.
FILE - Band members await the arrival of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for the Opening of Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, July 18, 2024.
A view of Liangang Dagu port is seen at the Binhai economic area in the municipality of Tianjin, northwest China on Feb. 5, 2025.
Guards stand in a corridor Syrian Democratic Forces-run Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama, which houses men accused of being Islamic State fighters in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Jan. 31, 2025. An inmate accused of being an Islamic State fighter stands inside a cell at the Syrian Democratic Forces-run Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama, in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Jan. 31, 2025.
A Palestinian boy carries an aid box provided by UNRWA, amid a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, Feb. 3, 2025.
FILE - Chinese shipping containers are stored beside a U.S. flag after they were unloaded at the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, California, May 14, 2019.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reacts during a cabinet meeting at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on Jan. 29, 2025.
Tourists pass by closed shops in Fira town as Greek authorities are taking emergency measures in response to intense seismic activity on the popular Aegean Sea holiday island of Santorini, southern Greece, Feb. 3, 2025. Passengers board a ferry to Athens' port of Piraeus after a spike in seismic activity raised concerns about a potentially powerful earthquake in Santorini, southern Greece, Feb. 3, 2025.
Cargo shipping containers sit on a container ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles on Feb. 3, 2025. China and the U.S. rolled out back-and-forth tariffs over the past two days. A photo released on Jan. 31, 2025, shows two suspects being presented with confiscated illegal drugs at an undisclosed location in Mexico. The Mexican government announced that day it had seized 18 kilos of fentanyl hidden in a bus.(Mexican Ministry of Defense and Navy via AFP) A 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor truck is displayed at the Dearborn Truck Plant, on April 11, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford and General Motors are two companies that could be hit hard by Chinese tariffs, experts say.
FILE - Workers sit in a queue to test for HIV/AIDS, in Lagos, Nigeria, May 1, 2023. USAID funding for Nigeria, which was recently suspended by President Donald Trump's administration, plays a pivotal role in the country's HIV/AIDS treatment programs. FILE - A health worker administers the malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M to a child at the comprehensive Health Centre in Agudama-Epie, in Yenagoa, Nigeria, Dec. 9, 2024.
FILE - Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waits to welcome the senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Damascus, Dec. 30, 2024.