Historical Moment in Ukraine: First Commemoration Day for Prisoners of War and Victims of Russian Crimes
For the first time in Ukraine's history, government agencies and society have united to honor the memory of those who fell victim to Russian aggression by establishing a new Day of Mourning.
This date, July 28, has become a symbol not only of remembrance for those who perished in captivity but also as a stark reminder of systematic abuses and war crimes committed by occupiers against Ukrainian prisoners and civilians.
According to the official statement from the Office of the Prosecutor General, this day aims to draw public attention to the scale and systemic nature of these atrocities and to call for justice.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized in his public appeal that the night from July 28 to 29, 2022, marked one of the darkest pages in modern Ukrainian history — Russia committed a brutal crime by killing dozens of Ukrainian prisoners held in detention facilities in Olenivka.
This was one of the first mass extermination acts, confirmed by international and Ukrainian investigators.
Currently, Ukraine continues a large-scale independent investigation to establish the full details of these crimes.
Official sources report that over 170 illegal detention sites have been identified on temporarily occupied territories and within Russia, where systematic torture, abuse, and extermination of detainees occurred.
Those detained there were subjected to brutal torture, electroshock, physical and psychological abuse, and even lethal practices.
As part of the investigation, more than 45 employees of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service have been charged, including directors of camps and prisons.
Particular attention is given to the tragedy in Olenivka, where at least 50 Ukrainian military personnel were killed in an explosion, with many more wounded.
These crimes constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and are without statute of limitations, Ukrainian prosecutors stress.
They call on the international community not to remain indifferent and to pursue justice by holding all perpetrators accountable.