Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine claim that at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war taken during the battle for Mariupol were slain by Ukrainian artillery.
When Ukrainian fire struck a jail in the town of Olenivka on Friday, at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were murdered and 130 were injured, according to Daniil Bezsonov, a spokesperson for the rebels in the Donetsk area who are supported by Russia.
According to the Reuters news agency, Russia’s military ministry said that Ukraine deployed HIMARS rockets developed in the United States in the attack. In addition to the 40 fatalities, the ministry reported 75 wounded.
There was no immediate reaction from Ukrainian authorities to the claims.
After hard combat for Ukraine’s Azov Sea port of Mariupol, the Ukrainian army were captured after being holed up within the enormous Azovstal steel complex for months.
While clinging to the steel mill’s underground network of tunnels, the Azov Regiment and other Ukrainian forces defended it for over three months. Under constant ground, naval, and air bombardment from Russia, they capitulated in May.
Numerous Ukrainian troops were then transported to jails in Russian-controlled regions, including the Donetsk region, a breakaway territory in eastern Ukraine governed by separatist authorities with Russia’s support.