Kiev, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians have called on their government to do more to improve the situation. Russia to release prisoners of war, and expressed their anger Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50 people.
Several thousand soldiers and civilians gathered on Independence Square in Kiev on Sunday to commemorate the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainians held by Russia in the Olenivka prison barracks.
Speakers at the solemn ceremony urged the Ukrainian government to work harder to secure the soldiers’ release through a prisoner exchange.
According to many soldiers, the explosion in Olenivka was one of the most painful moments of the war.
“I was there in Olenivka. I was shocked by the explosion,” said Sgt. Kyrylo Masalitin, who was later released. “I have never felt so helpless before. And those who are still captive feel that helplessness every day. They need to know that we did everything we could to get them free.”
Russia claims the explosion in Olenivka was caused by Ukrainian forces firing a rocket that hit the prison barracks. But mounting evidence suggests Russian forces caused the blast, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.
The AP interviewed more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of the details of the attack, including survivors, investigators and families of the dead and missing. All of the evidence they described, they said, points directly to Russia as the perpetrator. The AP also obtained an internal analysis from the United Nations that found the same thing. Despite the internal analysis’ conclusion that Russia planned and carried out the attack, the UN has stopped short of publicly blaming Russia.
Two years after the explosion, many Ukrainians still want to know exactly how it happened. Sunday’s demonstration brought together people commemorating Olenivka with others protesting Russia’s capture of Ukrainian fighters who defended the Azovstal steel plant and were captured when Russia took the city of Mariupol.
Many also called for the release of Ukrainian soldiers who defended the Avovstal steelworks and were captured when Mariupol fell in 2022.
“We are here to remember those who died and also those who are imprisoned. We are here to urge our government to work hard on this,” said a soldier who identified himself as Stanislav.
He said he had been a defender of Mariupol when the Russians invaded in February 2022 and was wounded in an artillery strike, losing his left arm. He was treated at the army base in the Azovstal steel plant before being captured by Russian troops and then released. After physical rehabilitation, Stanislav returned to the army and now works at the military headquarters in Kiev.
He said he will continue to campaign for the release of prisoners of war.
“We are here for a special reason, to see our brothers in arms in captivity come back,” he said. “All those prisoners.”