Diplomat: Kiev's attempts to blame Russia for attack on prison futile
Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky wrote a tweet saying that Ukraine is making futile attempts to accuse Russia of the attack on the DPR prison for Ukrainian POWs.
Ukraine is making futile attempts to accuse Moscow of the attack on the DPR prison for Ukrainian POWs, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky wrote on Twitter.
"Nazi Ukraine makes futile attempts to shift the blame on us for this crime. They could have fired something else but US-supplied HIMARS if they were smarter," the tweet reads.
The diplomat said earlier at a United Nations Security Council meeting that the attack would only push more Ukrainian service members to give up.
According to Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, on July 29, the Ukrainian military used a US-made HIMARS rocket system to shell a pre-trial detention center in the Elenovka settlement where captured Ukrainian troops are kept, including members of the Azov battalion.
According to the latest data, the attack caused the death of 50 Ukrainian service members and the injury of over 70.
The facility has been reported to house Ukrainian fighters seized by Russian and coalition forces during the siege of the Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol.
The bombardment occurred as Russian and DPR troops attempted to push Ukrainian troops out of the republic's western territories.
The DPR has repeatedly accused Ukraine of shelling Donetsk and other locations with HIMARS. Authorities stated on Sunday that the Ukrainian military had attacked an oil plant in Donetsk.
Russia informed UN of evidence proving Ukraine targeted Elenovka
Russian Deputy Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy informed the UN on Saturday of evidence implicating Ukraine in the targeting of a detention center in Donetsk.
Polyanskiy said that information proving Kiev is to blame for the targeting of the pre-trial detention center in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in Elenovka.
"Today we informed [UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres] that we have irrefutable evidence of Ukraine's responsibility for the shelling of Elenovka. UN should not hide from condemning this crime of Kiev regime." Polyanskiy said on Twitter.
Today we informed @antonioguterres that we have irrefutable evidence of #Ukraine’s responsibility for the shelling of #Elenovka. UN should not hide from condemning this crime of #Kiev regime. Russia launches international investigation to find the culprits and punish them https://t.co/LqklkUlj5K
— Dmitry Polyanskiy (@Dpol_un) July 31, 2022
"We have called on the UN to immediately give an objective assessment of what happened," Polyanskiy added, revealing that Russia also launched its own international investigation. These statements came as Russia denounced Ukraine’s attempt to blame Russia for the attack.
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said Saturday that the UN stood ready to conduct an investigation into the recent deadly shelling of a pre-trial detention center in Donetsk's town of Elenivka, which lodged Ukrainian combatants taken prisoner among others if all parties agree.
The detention center was bombed on Friday morning; an attack was carried out by Ukrainian troops as scraps of US-made HIMARS missiles were discovered at the site.
The DPR has repeatedly accused Ukraine of shelling Donetsk and other locations with HIMARS on Friday, July 29. According to the DPR territorial defense, the strike killed 53 and wounded over 130 people until this time.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was involved in the evacuation process of the wounded as it assisted local personnel.
Earlier on July 29, DPR head, Denis Pushilin, argued that the detention center was targeted after the militants imprisoned in it, most of which as from the nationalist Azov battalion, had started giving their testimonies that would implicate the Kiev regime. The attack was premeditated Pushilin argued.
The Russian ministry of defense believes that Ukraine attacked as an act of intimidation to eliminate or prevent any testimonies from the militants of the neo-Nazi Azov battalion, which were taken prisoner by the DPR or allied troops.
According to reports, the facility housed Ukrainian fighters captured by Russia and its allied forces during the siege of the Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol.