Ukraine, Russia trade blame for shelling of prison that killed 40

Russia-backed separatists claim Ukraine shelling killed Ukrainian prisoners of war. (File/AFP)

• The Ukrainian troops were taken prisoner after the fierce fighting for Ukraine’s Azov Sea port of Mariupol

KYIV: Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war appear to have been killed in an missile strike on Friday, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of carrying out the attack.
The incident overshadowed UN-backed efforts to restart grain shipments from Ukraine and ease a looming global hunger crisis stemming from the war, now in its sixth month.
Russia’s defense ministry said 40 prisoners were killed and 75 wounded in the attack on the prison in the frontline town of Olenivka, in a part of Donetsk province held by separatists.
It accused Kyiv of targeting it with US-made HIMARS rockets, Russian news agencies reported.
Ukraine’s armed forces denied carrying out strike and blamed it on Russian forces, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison.
“In this way, the Russian occupiers pursued their criminal goals — to accuse Ukraine of committing ‘war crimes’, as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions,” the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.
The Russian defense ministry said the prison housed Ukrainian prisoners of war and that eight prison staff were also wounded. Russian-backed separatist leader Denis Pushilin was quoted as saying there were no foreigners among 193 people held there.
Video released by a Russian war correspondent showed Russian-backed military personnel sifting through the burned-out remains of what he said was the prison.
The smashed roof of the building was hanging down and the charred remains of bodies could be seen.
Separately Ukraine said at least five people had been killed and seven wounded in a Russian missile strike on the southeastern city of Mykolaiv, a river port just off the Black Sea, as Russia fired across frontlines in eastern and southern Ukraine.
A missile struck near a public transport stop, regional governor Vitaly Kim said on Telegram.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, did not immediately comment on the situation and Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.