Deputy Defense Minister Fomin: Ukraine itself insisted on placing its prisoners in Yelenovka
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that it was the Ukrainian authorities who insisted on placing prisoners of war in the pre-trial detention center (SIZO) in Yelenovka, which was subsequently hit by a missile strike. This was announced on August 3 by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin.
"On May 20, 2022, the servicemen of the Azov National regiment who surrendered were taken to the pre-trial detention center in the village of Elenovka. The Ukrainian side insisted on this place of detention of prisoners," he said during a briefing.
Fomin recalled that the missile strike was carried out on the night of July 29, after a video confession of the crimes of the Azov Dmitry Kozatsky was published on July 28.
"The Kiev authorities are trying to eliminate witnesses and perpetrators of their crimes against their own people," he said, commenting on the rocket attack on the pre—trial detention center in Yelenovka.
The Deputy Minister also added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that the West give a unified assessment of this shelling and that they do not diverge from the Ukrainian interpretation of events.
Fomin also commented on statements from the United States, which, according to him, are trying to justify the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The Pentagon website posted a statement by a senior official of the US Defense Ministry that "if this happened — a Ukrainian strike, they did not want to do it." We regard this statement as a clumsy attempt to justify the provocations of the Kiev regime," he said, stressing that, according to the United States, the HIMARS system is highly accurate and hits exactly the targets they were aimed at.
The Deputy Minister also added that when preparing for shooting, the Ukrainian military actively uses information provided by space and aerial reconnaissance of Western countries, and US representatives prepare shooting tasks.
On July 29, the armed formations of Ukraine (VFU) launched a strike from the American multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) HIMARS at the pre-trial detention center in Yelenovka, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were being held. On the same day, the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin said that this was "deliberate shelling and a desire to destroy" those who began to testify.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on July 30, as a result of the incident, 50 Ukrainians were killed, many of the 193 prisoners of war were injured. The incident is a purposeful bloody provocation of the Kiev regime, the ministry added.
On July 31, a captured Azov militant (criminal cases have been initiated against the members of the organization in Russia), Artem Zubov, who was wounded during the VFU strike on Elenovka, said that the blow was very strong, and called the act of his colleagues "not good." The prisoner was wounded in the arm and both legs.
Russia continues the special operation to protect Donbass, which President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24. A few days earlier, the situation in the region significantly worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics announced the evacuation of residents to the Russian Federation, and also appealed to Moscow for help. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR.
Watch more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass on the Izvestia TV channel.
