Thousands in Ukraine honor soldiers killed in explosion and call on government to release prisoners | News, Sports, Jobs

Soldiers of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion set off flares during a rally in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 28, 2024. They demand the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia. Several thousand people and soldiers gathered to commemorate the second anniversary of a Russian-staged explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Russian-occupied Olenivka prison barracks. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians called on their government to do more to persuade Russia to release prisoners of war and expressed anger Sunday at a ceremony marking the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50 people.

Several thousand soldiers and civilians gathered in Kyiv’s Independence Square on Sunday to commemorate the second anniversary of the explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainians held by Russia in the barracks of Olenivka prison.

Passionate speakers at the ceremony called on the Ukrainian government to do more to secure the release of the soldiers through a prisoner exchange.

According to many soldiers, the explosion in Olenivka was one of the most painful aspects of the war.

“I was there in Olenivka. The explosion shocked me,” said Sergeant Kyrylo Masalitin, who was later released. “Never before have I felt so helpless. And those who are still in captivity feel this helplessness every day. They must know that we have done everything to get them released.”

FILE – Tetiana Poltorak, left, and Tetiana Artemenko place flags honoring Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in the Olenivka region at a memorial near Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Behind Masalitin, more than 300 soldiers from the Azov Brigade stood in formation. Together they said a prayer before holding up red torches to honor their comrades.

Russia claims the explosion in Olenivka was caused by Ukrainian forces firing a missile that hit the prison barracks, but an Associated Press investigation says mounting evidence suggests Russian forces triggered the blast.

The AP interviewed more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of the details of the attack, including survivors, investigators and families of the dead and missing. All of the evidence described, they say, points directly to Russia as the perpetrator. AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that reached the same conclusion. Although the internal analysis concluded that Russia planned and carried out the attack, the UN refrained from blaming Russia in public statements.

Two years after the explosion, many Ukrainians still want to know exactly how it happened. At Sunday’s demonstration, people who remember Olenivka met with others protesting against Russia’s detention of Ukrainian fighters who defended the Azovstal steel plant and were captured when Russia seized the city of Mariupol.

Many also called for the release of Ukrainian soldiers who defended the Avovstal steel plant and were captured when Mariupol fell in 2022. At least 900 soldiers from the Azov Brigade are being held by Russia as prisoners of war. “Free Azov” The campaign has become a vocal pressure group in Kyiv, holding weekly vigils to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government to negotiate a prisoner exchange to free Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia.

“We are here to remember those who have died and also those who are in captivity. We are here to urge our government to work hard,” said a soldier who introduced himself as Stanislav.

He said he was a defender of Mariupol when the Russians invaded in February 2022, and he was injured in an artillery attack and lost his left arm. He was treated at the military base at the Azovstal steel plant before being captured by Russian forces and then released. After physical rehabilitation, Stanislav returned to the army and now works at the military headquarters in Kyiv.

He said he would continue to campaign for the release of captured soldiers.

“We are here for a special reason: to achieve the return of our captured brothers in arms,” he said. “All those who are in captivity.”

Numerous families gathered for the event in the center of Kyiv, including mothers, wives and children of soldiers who were killed in Olenivka or are currently in Russian captivity.

With her voice shaking with excitement, 71-year-old Halyna Stafiichuk said her son was being held by the Russians and she had not heard from him for over two years.

“I cry every day. I just pray for a message from him saying he’s OK and coming home soon.” said Stafiichuk. “We trust that God and our government will bring back all our soldiers.”