Invaders confirm Russian troops responsible for Olenivka shelling — phone call intercepted by Security Service of Ukraine

The Security Service of Ukraine has made public the telephone conversations of the so-called “DPR” fighters. The fighters discussed the shelling of the last known location of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the occupied Olenivka village of the Donetsk Region.

The record shows that the explosion was set up on purpose and there were no attacks from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

People talking on the phone also confirmed in the conversations that Ukrainian servicemen were deliberately transferred to another place the day before.

The conversations of the so-called “DPR” fighters intercepted by the SSU confirm that the Russians have staged a tragedy with the help of explosives, which they placed inside, on the premises of the Olenivka jail.

“Yesterday it started at night, around 11 p.m. They started shelling with the Grad multiple rocket launchers, right under the fence there. Well, it was 100 metres from the fence, it was visible there. And 10 rockets. First ten shots — [then followed by] explosion. The second ten — an explosion. The third, actually, there were three explosions. The windows were not blown out anywhere. There was no typical aftermath of a shell incoming, no whistling. That is, the explosion took place here. So. A lot of dead and wounded,” the fighter said.

The Security Service of Ukraine emphasised that it has several such audio interceptions at its disposal — they will be included as evidence in the relevant criminal investigation. The Ukrainian special service has already opened criminal proceedings under Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war) of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. Currently, the entire amount of information is being investigated by SSU investigators.

The videos available on the network reveal that the windows in some rooms of the jail have in fact been left intact. This indicates that the epicentre of the explosion was inside the destroyed building. Its walls “muted” the blast waves.

In general, there is plenty of evidence that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not launch missile and artillery strikes in the area of Olenivka.

“No matter what nonsense the enemy invents to justify himself, it is obvious to everyone that the Russian Federation is guilty of the deliberate killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war. This is confirmed by the first available evidence. I’m sure that later the evidence base will only be supplemented. Investigators of the SSU have already started investigating this crime as part of the relevant criminal proceedings,” said the acting head of SSU Vasyl Maliuk.

Mercenaries of “PMC Wagner” were involved in the terrorist attack

The Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that mercenaries of the “PMC Wagner” are behind the explosions.

“According to the available information, Russian mercenaries from “PMC Wagner” are behind the explosion in the colony in Olenivka, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were held. They carried out the explosion on the instructions of the owner of “PMC” — Yevgeny Prigozhin. They did not coordinate the organization and actual terrorist attack with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation,” the Defence Intelligence said in a statement.

The main purpose of the terrorist attack, according to intelligence, is to hide the facts of the total embezzlement of funds allocated for the maintenance of Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to intelligence data, a commission was supposed to arrive at the “object” on August 1 to check the expenditure of funds.

“Since the actual condition of the building and the conditions of keeping the prisoners in it did not meet the requirements of the Russian leadership, the “problem” was solved by destroying the premises — together with the Ukrainian prisoners of war,” the Defence Intelligence noted.

Another goal of the terrorist attack is to increase social tension in Ukrainian society.

“Another goal of the terrorist attack is to increase social tension in Ukraine. Given the great public interest in the fate of the heroes of Azovstal, according to the authors of the scenario of the terrorist attack, the death of the defenders should lead to an increase in social tension in Ukraine,” the Defence Intelligence reported.

The head of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, appealed to all international institutions with a request to express a tough position regarding the events in Olenivka.

“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is one of the guarantors of the safety and proper maintenance of Ukrainian prisoners of war, should give a proper assessment of the events and make efforts to find out the real circumstances and reasons for the killing of the Ukrainian defenders. Ukraine demands the immediate admission of representatives of Ukraine to the scene of events to study the situation and control the conditions of detention of captured Ukrainian defenders. I also emphasise the need to conduct detailed monitoring of the conditions of detention of Ukrainian prisoners of war and guarantee the preservation of their lives and health,” Budanov said.

The number of dead and wounded

The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine reported 40 dead Ukrainian soldiers and 130 wounded.

They announced this on their Telegram channel.

However, the investigation and clarification of data continue.

As previously reported, the patronage service of the Azov Regiment is working on identifying the wounded and the dead. On the morning of July 29, Russian propagandists announced the death of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukrainian soldiers were kept in a penitentiary facility in the occupied Olenivka village of the Donetsk Region. The Russian disinformation network is promoting a story of an alleged “attack” at the prison from the Ukrainian side.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that it was a targeted, deliberate shelling by the invaders.

According to the Commander of the Missile Forces and Artillery of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not launch missile or artillery strikes in the Olenivka area.