Part 1: “Olenivka: From Captivity to Being Burned to Death”
Investigators: Vyacheslav Kolomeets and Guillaume Sancandi
Legal Analysts/Authors: Margot V. H., Olya and Aleksandra Ptak
Edited by: Emma Urbanová
A preface to the article:
The International Crimes Investigation Group (ICIG) of OSINT FOR UKRAINE is engaged in an ongoing investigation into the Oleniivka bombing and the events leading up to it. This comprehensive inquiry was initiated at the request and in close cooperation with the Oleniivka Families Community, whose unwavering commitment has been instrumental in steering our investigative efforts.
This article, the inaugural installment in a series of three, serves as a public informative and analytical piece meticulously compiled by the ICIG. Importantly, this article does not encapsulate the full scope of our ongoing investigation. A significant portion of our work is conducted in private, adhering strictly to established documentation methods and prevailing legal and ethical guidelines. As the investigation progresses, we aim to provide further information and potential evidence to official legal accountability bodies, remaining steadfast in our commitment to adhering to legal accountability guidelines.
Kind Regards,
Deniz M. Dirisu
General Director OFU
A Timeline of Suffering
On 29 July 2022, an explosion in a detention centre near Olenivka (Donetsk, Ukraine) where both prisoners of war (“PoW”) and civilians were detained drew the attention of the international community. After the explosion, Moscow was quick to point fingers at Ukraine, arguing that Ukrainian authorities had killed their own soldiers with a HIMARS strike, fearing that the soldiers would confess to committing war crimes, and to discourage others from surrendering as well. The Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”) soon backed up Moscow’s claims. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the other hand, vehemently denied these claims and called the attack “a deliberate war crime by the Russians”.
A year later, the families of the victims are none the wiser. Relatives have approached United Nations (“UN”) bodies, various NGOs, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, but without any result. Upon their request, OSINT for Ukraine has conducted an investigation to try and ascertain what exactly occurred on 29 July 2022 and, more importantly, to find the names of persons who might have (in)directly committed this heinous war crime. Part I of this investigation will set out the timeline starting with the months of abuse the PoWs suffered through before the explosions and concluding with a description of their aftermath. In the following parts of this investigation, the legal framework of the war crime of torture will be laid out, the organisational structure and people responsible for managing the Olenivka detention centre will be discussed, and lastly, we will look at possible legal avenues to achieve justice for the victims of the Olenivka tragedy.
Correctional Colony No. 120
The detention centre in Molodizhne, Donetsk, also known as Volnovakha Correctional Colony No. 120 (“Волноваська Виправна колонія №120”), was established on basis of the Labour Treatment Profilactoria № 37 to house an agricultural college in 1999, but the premises were later abandoned. When it was last in use, around 2014, it was a medium security level penal colony for men with the capacity of approximately 1,100 prisoners. In spring 2022, pro-Russian separatists of the Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”) started using the prison buildings to house enemy civilians and to begin filtration activities. The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab alleges that the colony is now used as a long-term detention facility for both civilians as well as PoWs who surrendered after the siege of Azovstal.
Source: CNN, 11 August 2022.
Before the arrival of the Azov fighters on 17 May 2022, the DNR’s flags had reportedly been replaced by Russian flags, indicating that the administration of the colony had been taken over by Russian authorities. According to witnesses, at the beginning of their detention, the administration and guards were from the separatist ORDO - “certain [occupied] parts of Donetsk region”. Meanwhile, other witnesses mentioned that they were received by guards from Kuban, who later were replaced by guards from Voronezh. The pro-separatist prison guards from Donetsk started wearing Russian uniforms.
The Arrival of Azovstal Prisoners of War in Olenivka
Witnesses estimate that between May and July 2022, around 3,500 to 4,000 detainees passed through the doors of the prison’s premises. Two large groups of Ukrainian PoWs, who surrendered in Mariupol, were transferred to Olenivka between 14 and 17 April and between 16 and 21 May 2022. Azovstal PoWs estimate that around 2,000 of them were transferred to Olenivka on 17 May 2022. Whilst the first group of PoWs, who arrived in April 2022, were transported in overcrowded trucks and subjected to beatings by Russian-affiliated armed groups upon their arrival in the correctional colony, the second group from Azovstal were transported in buses. This group was guarded by employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) [a federal agency of the Ministry of Justice of Russia responsible for correctional services] and was not subjected to any ill-treatment upon arrival at all. The OHCHR was informed by witnesses that at least one PoW died during an “admission procedure” in Olenivka in mid-April 2022. However, the OHCHR was still in the process of corroborating eight other alleged deaths.
In the months between the arrival of the PoWs and the attack of 29 July 2022, some of the Azov PoWs were separated from the other PoWs and interned in barracks numbered 1/2 and 9/10. The quality and amount of food and water in the colony was poor, as well as the hygienic and sanitary conditions. Food was distributed irregularly; for example, breakfast could be served at 2 p.m., lunch at 10 p.m., and dinner could be skipped completely or take place at 4 a.m. only. According to witnesses, they were given food containing only about 600 calories per day, people were weak, and sometimes lost consciousness. A majority of the detainees also reported significant weight loss due to these conditions. The barracks were overcrowded as there were twice as many detainees as beds in the barracks. Medical services were inadequate, resulting in the development of infectious diseases among the PoWs. Some PoWs reported that there were no toilets in the barracks, and that they therefore had to use a well. Others stated that they were not allowed to use the toilets during the first days of detention. One interviewee reported to the OHCHR that he was tortured in the Olenivka correctional colony by members of Russian-affiliated armed groups who “attached wires to [his] genitalia and nose, and shocked [him]. They simply had fun and were not interested in [his] replies to their questions”. Twenty female prisoners of war who were interviewed by the OHCHR reported that although they were not subjected to physical violence in Olenivka, they were “psychologically tormented by the screams of male prisoners of war being tortured in nearby cells”. Part II of this analysis will focus more extensively on testimonial evidence of PoWs who have been tortured in Olenivka.
Source: CNN, 11 August 2022.
Preparations for 29 July 2022
Between 26 March and 11 April 2022 and between 17 and 27 July 2022 respectively, mass graves were dug by detainees. This claim has been corroborated by one man who had been detained in Olenivka during that time and who had been told by another detainee that he had been digging graves on the territory of the colony. Satellite imagery captured on 27 July 2022, indeed shows “8 parallel rows of disturbed earth - averaging 16.29 metres in length and 2.71 metres in width”. In the span of three days, the markings had been removed in a quick and organised manner.
Around two weeks before the attack on 29 July 2022, the prisoners were ordered to convert two warehouses in the industrial zone into barracks. It is worth noting that, according to the witness statements, PoWs from groups other than the Azov soldiers were assigned to perform construction work around the mentioned warehouses. One detainee recalls that the first barrack was designed for 200 people, whereas the second barrack could accommodate 50 to 60 people. The work on the two barracks was finished within five days. Electric cables were laid down and beds were placed in the new barracks to create “normal living conditions”. The PoWs still described the barrack as “completely unsuitable for living” as there were machines and presses next to the beds and there were no amenities whatsoever. Furthermore, the wife of one of the exchanged PoWs mentioned that her husband had reported that the warehouse was saturated with motor grease which explains why the furniture inside the warehouse so easily caught on fire on 28 July 2022. Additionally, the windows were located high up the walls and could not be opened. A request from soldiers to remove the glass windows, so that they could breathe more easily, was denied.
On 26 July 2022, prison guards read out a list of names of prisoners who were subsequently taken to the barrack called “Barrack 200” which had been converted in the weeks before. The prisoners who were taken to Barrack 200 were most likely randomly chosen. According to a witness statement, the list was read by representatives of the FSIN. This witness also stated that the list was read twice on different days, and when it was read the second time, it had changed. Another PoW, who was subsequently released, mentioned that the list comprised individuals from various categories and units from the Azov Brigade: from commanders, officers, and sergeants to soldiers. Upon their arrival to Barrack 200, the Azov PoWs did a headcount. There were 198 PoWs. That same day, five of them from the anti-aircraft defence force were taken away to Donetsk pretrial detention centre, so a total of 193 Azov PoWs remained in Barrack 200.
Some detainees recall that the next day, on 27 July 2022, guards were replaced at the colony. These guards were given weapons, whereas before that day, the perimeter of the colony had been guarded by men with batons and pepper sprays only. In the afternoon, inmates from Barack 200 were confined there for several hours. When they left the barrack, they noticed new barbed wire placed everywhere: on the floor, in the toilet area, showers, and so on. Simultaneously, the PoWs in Barrack 200 were given instructions prohibiting them from leaving the barrack after midnight. Before the night of the explosion, the representatives of the colony searched for all the prisoners near the barracks, then they ushered them into the building while checking names off a list to ensure that everyone had entered. After the lights had gone off, the PoWs were no longer permitted restroom breaks and had to remain inside the barrack.
The Night of the Explosions
On the night of 28 July, shortly after the Azov PoWs had conducted a general roll call and had gone to bed at around 10:30 p.m., detainees heard two explosions after which a fire broke out in Barrack 200. The first explosion occurred around 11:30 p.m., the second around 11:45 p.m. The sound of these explosions was familiar to the detainees as they had heard a thermobaric weapon explode before.
One detained soldier went up to the second floor of a barrack and witnessed guards running around Barrack 200. These were the same guards who had arrived the day before and were not yet familiar with the premises of the colony. Within the barrack, about 30 Azov PoWs who had been sleeping near the epicentre of the explosion had already died. Others who had been woken up by the explosion tried to escape, but some beds had been pressed together by the blast power, blocking off the one and only exit of the building. Witnesses stated they could see the remains of human bodies burning in Barrack 200.
The Azov PoWs who managed to escape the barrack ran outside whilst pulling out the wounded or the remains of the deceased. They had broken through the barbed wire around the barrack to create an exit because no one was going to open the fences for them, moving towards the administration building where, according to witnesses, Russians were firing at the PoWs’ legs and feet and throwing stun grenades in their direction.
Source: CNN, 11 August 2022.
Medics from Azovstal and Ilych Plant, who were also detained in Olenivka, were called to assist the injured. One of them, a doctor from the Ilych Metallurgical Plant, was told by a higher-up within the colony that “47 persons [had] died on the spot as a result of the explosion, and 116 were wounded”. Most PoWs had sustained secondary wounds, like shrapnel wounds, whilst others had “traumatic amputations, profound abdominal lacerations, cranial injuries,” and burns as a result of insulation residue that had caught on fire.
The management of the colony watched from the side but did nothing to rescue injured detainees. When the medics asked for needles and other medical equipment, the guards merely tossed scraps of white clothing, Esmarch tourniquets, and Soviet first aid kits over the fence. Other captured civilian medics were allowed entrance to the alleyway where the injured were laid down between 2 and 3 a.m.
Despite a number of ambulances being stationed right outside the gate within 30 minutes after the last explosion, only at 5 a.m. on 29 July 2022, after numerous desperate cries for help from the Azovstal PoWs, the guards loaded the seriously wounded onto Ural trucks and took them to Donetsk hospitals. The lighter-wounded PoWs were taken to the disciplinary detention centre in Olenivka. Although the detainees had been ready to evacuate the injured much earlier in the night, the colony’s administration took their time printing out lists and photographs to identify the deceased and injured detainees. As a result, five Azov detainees had passed away in the meantime due to an excessive loss of blood. One of the surviving eyewitnesses stated that he had numerous shrapnel wounds and burns on his face, and the colony employees took 20 minutes to identify him. He also mentioned that the PoWs were loaded into trucks, and the drivers were speeding, not stopping even when encountering potholes. He was in the second vehicle but stated that he knew there were a few soldiers who didn't survive the journey to the hospital and died en route.
Six hours had elapsed since the last explosion when the Russian Defence Ministry finished putting together the initial lists of the individuals who had been injured and who had passed away. According to witnesses, “the charred bodies were removed outside, covered, and left exposed in the open air for a period of time. Later on, the Russians relocated them to basements as opposed to refrigerated trucks”.
Around 10 a.m., the detainees in the other barracks heard on the local radio that Olenivka had been fired upon. This is also when the families of the victims first heard about the incident that had taken place the night before in Olenivka colony.
It is worth noting that, according to witness statements, before the explosion, there were no guards near Barrack 200, while all other barracks were continuously guarded and it is curious that no Russian guards were killed or wounded in the prison explosion in Olenivka. In fact, after the blast had happened, one witness saw guards near the warehouse who were well-dressed, wearing quality vests and helmets. Notably, he observed that they were armed, contrary to before when they had not carried weapons. In his opinion, this indicates that they were from the special forces of the Russian Federation.
Reuters
The Aftermath
The morning after the blast, Andrey Lazarev, an employee of the Russian Defence Ministry’s Zvezda channel, alleged that a HIMARS rocket had been used by posting a picture showing “neatly arranged fragments, one of which included the serial number of a HIMARS rocket in remarkably good condition”. Despite Russian officials blaming Ukraine for attacking Olenivka Colony, one witness from another barrack recalls how he saw “three presumed investigators” arrive at the site of Barrack 200 on 29 July 2022. Although he identified them as DNR-members, the Media Initiative for Human Rights (“MIHR”) has procured photographs proving that the investigators were in fact representatives of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Russia has not yet published the results of the investigation conducted by the Investigative Committee. Additionally, a delegation of journalists and foreign representatives headed by Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, visited the premises on 9 August 2022, and a Hollywood celebrity, Steven Seagal visited the colony two days later. Again, the delegation visiting on 9 August 2022 also alleged that Ukraine was behind the blast as “Kiev need[ed] the Azovites dead”.
Meanwhile, the injured PoWs, after recovering from their injuries, were taken to other prisons or pretrial detention centres in Horlivka, Donetsk, and Taganrog (Russian Federation). Families of these PoWs have not been in contact with them since their stay in Olenivka. The current whereabouts of these Azovstal detainees are therefore mostly unknown. Only fifteen of the 193 PoWs who were in Barrack 200 on 29 July 2022 have been released in PoW exchanges between Ukraine and Russia.
On 8 September 2022, the head of the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, revealed that the UN had been denied access to the site by Russian representatives. The ICRC also reported that it had not been given access to the colony to treat the PoWs affected by the attack.
On 11 October 2022, during an exchange of bodily remains, 62 bodies were transferred to Ukrainian territory. On the list of names, 57 were listed as having been killed during the Olenivka attack on 29 July 2022. The identification process of the bodily remains has been an ongoing process with the exact number of identified persons only known to the investigators as of yet. OSINT for Ukraine has put together its own list of victims and has managed to confirm the names of 52 victims who passed away the night of 29 July 2022. This list will be published along with part II.
But why?
The Ukrainian Chief Directorate of Intelligence claims that the main purpose of the attack was “to hide the facts of total embezzlement of funds allocated for the maintenance of Ukrainian prisoners of war.” On 1 August 2022, a commission from Moscow was supposed to arrive to check the expenditure of allocated funds. Considering that the conditions in the prison did not meet the requirements of the Russian leadership, the “problem” was solved by destroying the evidence along with the Ukrainian PoWs that were housed in that building. The Directorate of Intelligence also holds that the barrack had solely been built to accommodate prisoners taken from Azovstal Steelworks.
Several organisations have countered the Russian Federation’s claims that the bombing was executed by the Ukrainian government by using a HIMARS rocket. A representative of the Department of Combating Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict from the Prosecutor’s General Office shared during a meeting between the Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, and the families of victims that an examination is conducted to establish what type of weaponry was used to kill the PoWs in Olenivka. The Prosecutor’s General Office has collected 100 pieces of debris which will be examined by international experts. In July 2023, the Office shared that it had discovered that parts of Ukrainian missile weapons had been delivered to the prison grounds “with the aim of passing it off as a corresponding missile strike by the [Ukrainian] Armed Forces”.
On 25 July 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk rejected the allegations from Moscow that the destruction of the Olenivka prison was caused by a Ukrainian HIMARS strike, adding that at that stage, it was not possible to establish the specific source of the explosion.
Conclusion
It is difficult, if not outright impossible to believe that Ukraine is responsible for the events of 29 July 2022, as the Russian Federation suggests, and that it had inflicted such atrocities upon its own people. From the moment Azovstal PoWs arrived in Olenivka, they were targeted by the staff and treated poorly. The attack of 29 July 2022 was simply a horrific and deadly culmination of months of abuse and mistreatment.
In Part II of this investigation, you will be able to read more about the legal framework on acts of torture and we will explain step by step how the acts mentioned above amount to war crimes and crimes of torture within the framework of International criminal law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The full PDF version (with full footnotes)
Investigators
Vyacheslav Kolomeets
Vyacheslav is a Lead Investigator and OSINT specialist. He is actively engaged in advocating for the use of OSINT and investigative techniques to combat corruption and human rights abuses, particularly those perpetrated by armed forces in conflict regions. Vyacheslav's dedication to justice and his passion for IT and OSINT led him to pursue a career in investigative work.
Guillaume Sancandi
Guillaume completed a bachelor’s in international relations and conflicts in Belfast, Northern Ireland and recently graduated from a master in crisis and security management with a specialization in intelligence and national security at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He is currently working as a security consultant in Brussels.
Analysts/authors
Margot V. H.
Margot is the co-director of ICIG. She has two master’s degrees in public international law and international criminology, with a particular focus on conflict-related sexual violence. At OSINT for Ukraine, she is responsible for writing legal analyses and bridging the gap between OSINT and international law.
Olya
Olya is a Ukrainian lawyer with expertise in corporate law, commercial law, and forensics. At OSINT for Ukraine, she does investigations, data analysis and document translation.
Aleksandra Ptak
Aleksandra holds a degree in public international law, specialising in international criminal law. She also has experience in working on issues of transnational organised crime. At OSINT for Ukraine, Aleksandra focuses on legal analyses.
