Dozens of people gathered on Sofiyivska Square, mostly relatives of soldiers of the Azov Regiment on July 30, 2022 (Photo:REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Relatives of the fighters who defended Azovstal plant in Mariupol along with activists called on the global community to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism at a demonstration on Sofiyska Square in Kyiv on July 30, news agency Interfax-Ukraine reported.
The event was a reaction to the attack carried out in the Olenivka prisoner colony, in which dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed.
Several dozen people gathered on the square on July 30, lined up near the monument to Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. They held the flags of the Azov Regiment and placards reading: “Russia is a terrorist state”, “Free the defenders of Azovstal”, “Geneva Conventions do not apply”, and “Russia killed our heroes.”
The event was organized by the initiative group Vyriy, with the support of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders.
Kateryna, the wife of the commander of the Azov Regiment, Denys Prokopenko, pointed out that when the defenders of Azovstal laid down their arms, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross assured that nothing would threaten their lives and health.
The demonstrators called on the organization to respond to the crimes of Russia, which violated the previously concluded agreements and to bring it to justice.
In their appeal, published the day before, the relatives of the Azov fighters urged that representatives of the ICRC and the UN be sent to the colony in Olenivka to discover the circumstances of the tragedy, the state of health of the wounded and other prisoners of war.
Similar demonstrations are also announced on July 30-31 in a number of cities and countries around the world, including Berlin (Germany), Krakow and Warsaw (Poland), Istanbul (Turkey), Montreal (Canada), Frankfurt (Germany), and London (United Kingdom). The full list is available here.
The New Voice of Ukraine has collected together photos from the event in Kyiv.
Earlier, Russians published a list of dead prisoners of war in Olenivka. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets denied receiving this data. According to him, Ukraine has started the process of returning the bodies of the dead, and he himself demands access to the scene of the crime.
Ukraine’s General Staff said on July 29 that Russia had attacked the prison in Olenivka in order to accuse Ukraine of committing war crimes, while…
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