The US assures that Russia will pay for the death of 50 Ukrainian prisoners

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, his condolences for the death of 50 Ukrainian prisoners in a prison in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and promised that Washington will hold Moscow accountable for its “atrocities”.

The conversation between Blinken and Kuleba took place yesterday, Friday, after the attack against the prison, located in the town of Yelenovka (also known as Olenivka, in Ukrainian), State Department spokesman Ned Price reported in a statement this Saturday.

During the call, according to Price, Blinken “reaffirmed the US commitment to hold Russia accountable for the atrocities its forces have committed against the people of Ukraine.”

The attack caused 40 deaths, according to Ukrainian estimates; although both Washington and Moscow put the number of prisoners who lost their lives at 50.

Ukraine blames mercenaries from the Russian private military company Wagner. Meanwhile, Russia and the pro-Russian separatists blame kyiv and Washington for assuring that the attack was carried out with HIMARS missiles supplied by the US to the Ukrainian Army.

Ukraine has asked the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to send a mission to Donetsk to investigate the attack.

The Department of The US state limited itself to blaming Russia in its statement and did not go into whether the operation was orchestrated by Wagner.

Blinken also spoke yesterday by telephone with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov , in his first contact since the start of the conflict, and asked him to accept his proposal to release the two Americans detained in Russia, Brittney Grinner and Paul Whelan.

According to the State Department, Blinken gave Kuleba details of his call with Lavrov and underlined the United States’ “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. a.

Blinken also transmitted Kuleba their hope that the agreement between Ukraine and Russia will be fulfilled to end soon the blockade of wheat grains that are stored in Ukraine, in order to guarantee the world flow of cereals and avoid famines.

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–Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov talk for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine