Ukraine's Baghdad envoy rejects Iraq allegations, marks Olenivka anniversary

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Ukraine's ambassador to Iraq issued a written statement on the fourth anniversary of the Olenivka incident, in which Ukrainian prisoners of war, mostly defenders of Mariupol, were killed in a detention facility in the Russia-controlled Donetsk region in July 2022. The ambassador said Moscow accused Ukraine of responsibility shortly after the 29 July 2022 fire, but United Nations experts found no evidence supporting a missile strike account and investigators were unable to access the site. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, 95% of released Ukrainian prisoners reported being tortured, hundreds of rights defenders returned in coffins and thousands remain in captivity. The envoy also addressed recent claims in Iraqi media linking Ukraine to attacks on facilities in Iraq, saying Kyiv has no connection to the incidents and that it received the information through television broadcasts rather than diplomatic channels. He said Ukraine holds Iraq's security in the highest regard and is ready to cooperate transparently to establish the facts, adding that the allegations mirror Russian propaganda narratives. The statement concluded that showing mercy to prisoners is a sacred duty, a principle adopted by Islam centuries ago and codified in modern law through the Geneva Conventions.