Ukraine Urges Red Cross to Visit the Olenivka Prison

Officials from Ukraine are urging the Red Cross to conduct a mission to a notorious prison camp in the country's eastern, Russia-occupied, region. Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, demanded that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visit the Olenivka prison in Donetsk within three days. He tweeted, "We just can't waste more time. Human lives are at stake."

The Olenivka Prison

The Red Cross attempted to enter the camp last month but was reportedly turned away by Russian authorities. Furthermore, Russian-backed authorities in Donetsk have been in charge of the Olenivka prison since 2014. And rumors are that the conditions are extremely poor. Moreover, explosions at the camp in July killed numerous Ukrainian inmates, which both sides blamed on each other. While Moscow accused Ukrainian rockets, Kyiv claimed that Russia deliberately targeted the prison to remove any proof of torture and murder. However, without an independent investigation, the reality is still a mystery. On another note, the prison includes members of the Azov battalion, who were the last defenders of the city of Mariupol and whom Russia attempted to portray as neo-Nazis and war criminals.

Ukraine urging the Red Cross to visit the prison

Putting pressure on international organizations to look into what is happening at the prison is nothing new for Ukraine. During a video conference with representatives from the ICRC and other foreign organizations, Yermak claimed he brought up the problem once more. Additionally, he demanded Red Cross make the trip by Monday. He said on Telegram that "Ukraine... will contribute to this mission in every possible way" and expressed his confusion as to why a mission to inspect Olenivka had not yet been organized. Furthermore, Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, echoed the comments and blasted the Red Cross for being inactive, claiming that it had "obligations, primarily of a moral nature." On Thursday, Zelensky stated in his nightly address that he thought of the Red Cross as "not a club with privileges where one receives a salary and enjoys life." He said that Red Cross could organize a mission to the prison camp in a manner similar to the IAEA's (International Atomic Energy Agency) August visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "But it requires leadership," Zelensky remarked, in a barely disguised jab at the Red Cross. "The Red Cross can make it happen. But you have to try to make it happen."

Red Cross's response

Robert Mardini, the organization's Director-General, claimed last month that talks with the Russian government about access to Olenivka were underway but ultimately denied. He told reporters, "We are negotiating every day to have full access to all prisoners of war. It is clearly an absolute obligation [of] the parties to give the ICRC access to all prisoners of war." On another news, in his speech on Thursday, President Zelensky announced that Ukraine would observe Defenders Day on Friday, declared as a national holiday in 2014 following Russia's invasion of Crimea. He said, "Tomorrow we will definitely celebrate… one of our most important days. The holiday of all our warriors - from ancient times to the present, from the Cossacks to the rebels, from all of them to the soldiers of the modern army."