Russia said Ukraine used multiple US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers in the attack on the prison in Olenivka, in the Russian-controlled region of Donetsk. Officials from Russia and separatist authorities in Donetsk said the attack killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners and wounded 75. The representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov described the strike as a “bloody provocation” aimed at discouraging Ukrainian soldiers from surrendering. He said eight prison guards were also injured in the shelling. The Ukrainian military has denied any rocket or artillery attack on Olenivka, insisting it does not bomb civilian areas and only hits Russian military targets.
Ukraine claims a cover-up
He accused Russian forces of deliberately bombing the prison in Olenivka to accuse Ukraine of war crimes and also to cover up torture and executions there. The statement denounced the Russian claims as part of an “information war to accuse the Ukrainian armed forces of bombing civilian infrastructure and the population to cover up their own treacherous action.” Neither claim could be independently verified. Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-backed leader of the separatists, said the prison has 193 inmates. He did not specify how many of them were Ukrainian prisoners. Ukrainian authorities in the Donetsk region said Russia has pressed with shelling of civilian targets in areas controlled by Ukraine. “The fighting in the area is intensifying day by day and civilians must be evacuated while it is still possible,” said Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kirilenko. “The Russian military is not concerned about civilian casualties. It is shelling towns and villages in the region.” Ukrainian troops in Mariupol were captured after fierce fighting for Ukraine’s Azov Sea port, where they had holed up in the giant Azovstal steelworks. Their resistance has become a symbol of the Ukrainian struggle against the Russian invasion that began on February 24. The Azov regiment and other Ukrainian units defended the steel plant for nearly three months, clinging to its underground maze of tunnels. More than 2,400 surrendered in May under relentless Russian attacks by land, sea and air. Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have been jailed in Russian-controlled areas such as the Donetsk region, a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine run by Russian-backed separatist authorities. Some have returned to Ukraine as part of prisoner exchanges with Russia, but the families of others have no idea if their loved ones are alive or if they will ever return home.
More bombings in Kharkiv
In other developments, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces shelled the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a central part of the northeastern city was hit, including a two-story building and a higher education institution. Terehoff said the strike occurred shortly after 4 a.m. Friday. A man looks at a partially damaged residential building after an attack in central Kharkiv on Wednesday. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images) “The State Emergency Service is already working – they are disentangling the rubble, looking for people under it,” Terekhov said in a Telegram update. The Ukrainian presidential office announced that at least 13 civilians were killed and another 36 wounded by Russian shelling over the past 24 hours. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, at least four people were killed and seven others wounded when Russian shelling hit a bus stop. The press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine released this photo on Thursday, which is identified as a school building destroyed by a Russian military strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters) “The Russians have changed their tactics because of the successes of the Ukrainian forces in the south … they are firing near a bus stop,” Mykolayiv Governor Vitaly Kim said. The Russian barrage also hit a facility for the distribution of humanitarian aid, where three people were injured, officials said. Ukrainian officials also said at least four civilians were killed and five others wounded in the eastern city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, which is the focus of the Russian offensive in Donbass. Over 30 residential buildings and a kindergarten were damaged.
Ukraine is preparing to send grain again
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk on Friday, along with his infrastructure minister and a group of G7 diplomats, including the ambassadors to Ukraine from the US, Germany, UK and Canada. Standing near a Turkish ship waiting to depart, Zelensky said his country was ready to resume grain shipments for the first time in five months under an export deal Ukraine reached with Russia a week ago . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza as they visit a Ukrainian seaport in Chornomorsk, near Odessa, on Friday. (Presidential Press Service of Ukraine/Reuters) “We have sent all signals to our partners — the UN and Turkey, and our army is guaranteeing the security situation. The infrastructure minister is in direct contact with Turkey and the UN. We are waiting for them to give the green light. “ Zelensky said that once that happens, he believes the first shipments could begin today or Saturday.
