Russia says it has invited experts from the United Nations and the Red Cross to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shelling of a prison that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia wants an independent investigation, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday evening.
Russia blames Ukrainian rocket fire on the prison in the city of Olenikova, in the pro-Russian separatist-controlled region of Donetsk. According to the separatists, 53 prisoners were killed in the shelling on Friday. Numerous others were injured.
Zelenskyj wants revenge
The Ukrainian side, on the other hand, blames Russia for the bombing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even spoke of a deliberate Russian war crime. He again called on the world community to officially classify Russia as a terrorist state. In view of Russia’s massive attacks in the Donbass, Zelenskyy called on residents to leave the area.
“In the Donbass there are hundreds of thousands of people, tens of thousands of children, many refuse to leave,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on Saturday. He urged the people of Donbass to make this decision. “Believe me,” he said pleadingly. “The more people leave the Donetsk region, the fewer people the Russian army can kill.”
ordered evacuation
Earlier, the Ukrainian government had ordered a mandatory evacuation, arguing that civilians should get to safety in time for the start of the heating season, as the gas pipelines had been destroyed by the war in the Donetsk region. Zelenskyj now stressed that everything is being organized to allow people to flee from areas of the region still controlled by Ukraine.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
