Ukraine demands a visit to the notorious prison of the Red Cross

 Ukraine demands a visit to the notorious prison of the Red Cross

Ukrainian authorities have urged the Red Cross to conduct a mission to a notorious prison camp in the Russian-occupied east of the country.

Ukrainian Presidential Chief of Staff Andrey Yermak demanded that the Red Cross (ICRC) visit the Olenivka prison in Donetsk within three days.

"We can't waste any more time. Human lives are at stake," he tweeted.

Last month, the Red Cross tried to secure access to the camp, but said it was denied by Russian authorities.

Olenivka Prison has been under the control of Russian-backed authorities in Donetsk since 2014, and the situation is said to be dire.

In July, rocket attacks on the camp killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners, for which both sides blamed each other. Kyiv said Russia had targeted the prison for torture and destruction of evidence of murder, while Moscow blamed Ukrainian rockets.

Those detained at the site include members of the Azov Battalion, the last defenders of the city of Mariupol and whom Russia sought to portray as neo-Nazis and war criminals.

Mr Yermak said he raised the issue of the mission during a video conference with officials from the ICRC and other international organisations.

He has demanded to travel by Monday.

"Ukraine ... will contribute to this mission in every possible way," he said on Telegram, adding that he did not understand why a mission to observe Olenivka had not yet been arranged.

President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the calls, accusing the Red Cross of inaction, saying it has "an obligation, primarily of a moral nature".

In his nightly address on Thursday, Mr Zelensky said he believed the Red Cross "is not a privileged club where one receives a salary and enjoys life."

He said a mission to the prison camp could be organized similar to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station in August.

"But it requires leadership," Mr Zelensky said in a thinly veiled critique of the Red Cross. "The Red Cross can do that. But you have to make an effort to make it happen."

The ICRC has been contacted for comment.

Last month, the organization's director-general Robert Mardini said talks were underway with Russian officials about access to Olenivka - but were ultimately denied.

"We are negotiating every day to have full access to all prisoners of war," he told reporters. "It is clearly an absolute obligation [of] the parties to the ICRC to provide access to all prisoners of war."

Also in his Thursday address, President Zelensky said Ukraine would celebrate its Protector Day on Friday, which was made a national holiday after Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

"Tomorrow we will certainly celebrate ... one of our most important days. The holiday of all our warriors - from ancient times to the present, from the Cossacks to the rebels, from all of them to the soldiers of the modern army," he said . ,