Russia ~ A Terrorist State?
The UN and ICRC seek access to the Olenivka prison camp to investigate the attack
The deaths of 50 Prisoners of War at Olenivka (likened to the Katyn Massacre during WW II) needs to be investigated, but how can it be credible when the Russians have cleaned up the site? The investigators will find what the Russians want them to see.
The ICRC have been denied access to the site, even though Russia has stated that they would give the UN and ICRC access. Most notably, the UN is silent making only a short vague statement that they would be ready to send a team of investigators. Their statement can’t even be found anywhere and it was left to Ukrainian media to spread the message—that’s how useless they are. The UN only seem to be concerned about the starving and want the Ukrainian grain to be shipped. Their job was not to feed the starving nations (although it is helpful), but was created primarily to prevent war in the world. The entity is truly failing under the mountain of paperwork they create themselves.
Russia has claimed that Ukraine wanted to target the Azov prisoners so that they wouldn’t reveal details of war crimes against Russia, and Ukraine has said that the attack was the Russians who wanted to get rid of the soldiers quickly, and throw the blame on Ukraine. Satellite images show that no other building in the compound was targeted, as if the attack had been planned. Furthermore, the remnants of the barracks are consistent with an attack from inside the building and not from the outside. Ukraine had no reason to attack and kill their own troops, and Russia would have been happier if they had all been killed in Mariupol so that they didn't have to treat them as prisoners of war.
It is time the UN disbanded and a more functional entity takes it place, just as the League of Nations was replaced by the UN as it clearly has forgotten why the UN existed in the first place.
One cannot fail to notice that Russia have no intentions of retreating, with more barbaric attacks and knowing that the weak UN can do nothing because Russia sits on the UN Security Council. There are renewed calls to designate Russia a terrorist state, but how many more atrocities must there be until the UN has the guts to actually act?
Day 157 (30 July)
The UN and ICRC have requested access to Olenivka prison site to investigate the bombing, and to offer assistance in helping with the wounded by providing medical supplies. Only selected images from the Russians have been available and show the site cleared. The UN has stated that they are ready to send in a team to investigate the incident.
Ukraine has issued a statement claiming that the attack on Olenivka was planned and should be considered a terrorist attack as only specific people were targeted.
The grain blockade looks set to end for now, but Russia is burning the grain fields and is preventing the farmers and firefighter from putting out the fires. The Russians want to destroy the land and the livelihoods of the Ukrainians.
The Mykolaiv attack has left several people and at least one animal dead while they were waiting at a bus stop. The graphic images have been shared on social media.
Twitter has been allowing the Russian Embassies to post propaganda to appear fair and because it might be in the public’s interest. I fail to see how advocating a death penalty based on false charges in an illegitimate court can be in the public interest. Social media needs to decide whether they allow disinformation or not, and it is not censorship when a public body promotes the actions of an illegal court.
Latvia is the latest country to have gas supplies cut from Gazprom in Russia. Gazprom claims that Latvia (Latvijas Gaze) violated the terms of their agreement, but did not state what the violation was. It is assumed that it is because they are paying in euros and not roubles, although there is no agreement that payment must be made in roubles. Russia wants payment in roubles because of the sanctions imposed against them, which makes it difficult for them to access payments in other currencies.
Russia has published a list of the 50 POWs killed in the Olenivka attack, and the 73 wounded, and Ukraine has requested that the Russians provide the identities of the victims and the bodies. Russia has not as yet responded to the request.
Ukraine announces the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk, which means people have no choice but to evacuate. This suggests that Ukrainian troops are going to come in heavily and that the government does not want any civilian casualties. The only ones left will be the Russian sympathisers and collaborators.
Both the ICRC and UN issued statements that they would be willing to send a team to investigate the incident, but the UN is as always weak, “… we are ready to send a team of experts capable of conducing an investigation with the permission of the parties.”
Day 158 (31 July)
Russia has claimed to have granted the UN and ICRC access to the incident site, although it is more than 24 hours afterwards where it appears that the site has been ‘cleaned up’.
The ICRC have since stated that they have denied access to the prison camp.
Maxar has provided satellite images of the prison camp in Olenivka, and it is clear that the specific barracks was attacked as no other building was damaged.
A shipyard in Kherson has been seized by the Russians. The Smart Holding Group states that they lost control of the shipyard.
The Russians are occupying Kherson and stripping it of anything Ukrainian, while forcing businesses to be Russian or to lose their business.
In Mykolaiv, Oleksiy Vadatursky and his wife Raisa were killed when their home appeared to have been targeted by the Russians with the recent shelling. He was an oligarch who had been instrumental in supporting Mykolaiv, and was a grain millionaire who owned Nibulon. The couple could have left Ukraine but decided to stay to support the country.
The first caravan of grain vessels is set to leave on 1 August 2022 from ports in the Black Sea. It seems that the UN are more concerned about the grain than saving the lives of people in a war zone, and their job of preventing war in the first place.
@EL - Yes to all of the above. I'm lurking intermittently, not least because family are visiting, but also I feel like the Giant in Wilde's fairy tale, "The Selfish Giant", having visited a fellow Giant in Cornwall over seven years, I've said everything I had to say . . .
The news, as M.M. states below, is more appalling by the day. I feel helpless and outraged and the sensations are so uncomfortable that I'm trying for distance between posts and bulletins. (That goes for the OTHER story we follow, I'm so out of patience with it all and I feel as if I keep going round in circles. But I AM paying attention.)
Stay well, all. That is, stay sane. And, as always, many thanks to EL for carrying out the duty to history. TC
Each day the news is more horrific and appalling than the day before. As E-L has stated, "The Russians want to destroy the land and the livelihoods of the Ukrainians"; under the guise of liberating them.