On July 29th, it will be 3 years since the planned detonation that killed 53 and wounded about 130 more Mariupol defenders from the Azov Regiment. After their ordered surrender in May 2022, they were held by the Russians in a penal colony in the village of Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast. From the minute erstwhile the information about the crime became public, the families of the prisoners who were held in the barracks where the detonation took place have been fighting for the punishment of the perpetrators and the return of the remaining Azov prisoners from captivity. We talked about the organization’s activities with Oleksandra Mazur, a typical of the “Olenivka Community” association. This group brings together the relatives of prisoners of war from the Azov Regiment who became the victims of Russian war crimes in Olenivka.
KATERYNA PRYSHCHEPA: On the eve of the 3rd anniversary of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners in the Olenivka colony, what is the situation concerning the investigation of the crime and the actions to bring those liable to justice?
OLEKSANDRA MAZUR: Now we are inactive waiting for the return home of those who were in that barracks in Olenivka at the time of the execution and survived. This is simply a priority…
Do you have any estimates of the number of specified prisoners?
Unfortunately, all the figures are only estimations. There were about 200 people in the barracks, and most of them are inactive in captivity. any have returned, fortunately, but not all of them. Their return is simply a priority.
Then I would like to ask a basic question. Has the full list of those killed in those barracks been established?
There is simply a list of the dead whose identities have been confirmed by DNA analysis in Ukraine and who have been buried. We know them for sure. These are the people whose bodies were transferred to Ukraine. But we have doubts whether this list is exhaustive, due to the fact that no organizations or experts not affiliated with the Russian authorities were allowed to visit the crime scene.
Once the list of the killed is established and the prisoners are returned, it is crucial to conduct an independent investigation. As of now, unfortunately, there is no global mechanics to hold Russia accountable. There is the global Criminal Court, and from mid-2023 to December 2024, that is till the end of last year, we worked to collect all possible information about this crime. We did this in cooperation with respective another organizations – the Media Initiative for Human Rights, the Ukrainian Helsinki Union, the Regional Centre for Human Rights, Yahad in Unum (the rule task of this organization is collecting testimonies of Nazi crimes), and OSINT for Ukraine. We collected evidence that could be gathered without being at the crime scene – eyewitness testimonies, analysis of available images of the crime scene, and so on.
Based on the materials we collected, in December last year we prepared and filed a case with the global Criminal Court. But the thing is that the global Criminal Court does not gotta respond to us. That is, there are no deadlines for them to respond within a certain period of time. They may not answer us at all. And it turns out that for the minute we have no another mechanisms for punishing Russia, no institution where we could hand over our materials for investigation.
Do you have any contacts with representatives of the state authorities in Ukraine who are active in investigating and prosecuting the Olenivka case?
We have had any contacts, but as far as the case is concerned, we know as much as the general public. That is, what the state institutions openly comment on. erstwhile we presented the case that we have submitted to the ICC, I believe it was already in January this year, there were besides representatives of the state institutions present there. But if we are talking about our work, we prepared this case without them, only between our organizations.
That is, we are not the only organization dealing with the case of Olenivka. We just unite all the others working on it. There are things that only we can do, we have set ourselves tasks in line with this. If others are doing something, we simply disseminate this information or cooperate so that the information is not lost, and people who would like to know something about Olenivka can contact us for information or simply look through our pages. We do the work of memorialization and conservation, of collecting information in 1 place.
Apart from the ICC, what another possible global institutions could the case of Olenivka be brought to?
If an global tribunal on the war in Ukraine is established, our case will besides be within its competence. But so far, our experience with global organizations has not been satisfactory. In 2023, we travelled to Switzerland. In particular, I spoke at the UN and met with the people from the global Committee of the Red Cross at its headquarters. My conclusion after those meetings was that it was all just any kind of phase decoration. Before our trip, I had hoped that our visit and our address would change something. After that gathering at the UN, where I and the sister of Ihpor Prokopenko, 1 of the Azov POWs killed in Olenivka, were given the level to speak, we were approached by officials from different countries in a full hall. They came up to us and expressed their sympathy, but this did not translate into any action, nothing serious or professional. I don’t request sympathy, I request results. And there was no result.
Did you receive any support from abroad organizations or institutions?
On the contrary. Last year, in the autumn, for example, we contacted the embassy of Canada, and we had an online gathering with the ambassador of Canada to Ukraine. She said that she supported us and was besides working on this issue. During this meeting, we gave her the list of prisoners who were in that barracks in Olenivka at the time of the detonation who survived and were inactive in captivity, and asked her to distribute the list, to mention these names in public spaces. She didn’t do this and never contacted us again.
And then there are the meetings for the families of the victims, which besides seem like simple decoration. erstwhile people gather, they have a buffet meal and that’s it. There are no initiatives to make any effective project. In Ukraine, we can work on memorialization on our own, but it is very hard for us to make our way abroad. And, for example, if we are talking about embassies, they should be the ones who aid us enter their countries with our information, not organize an exhibition in our country. We can do it ourselves in our country.
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Do you know precisely how many of the prisoners who were in the barracks at the time of the detonation and survived are inactive in captivity?
About a 100 people. This is besides a problem, due to the fact that the list of those who were in that barracks and survived is besides inaccurate. The list of prisoners from Azovstal should have been recorded by the Red Cross. But even this is simply a problem. For example, my boyfriend was recorded, so we were fortunate in this regard. But Ihor Prokopenko, whom I mentioned, was not registered by the Red Cross, due to the fact that they did not come to work that day.
Ihor was seen in that barracks by eyewitnesses, and this is how the fact of him being there was initially confirmed.
What are Ukrainian government agencies doing to spread the information?
Not enough. From the very beginning, we offered the state authorities, including the abroad minister, our cooperation. Now it just seems irrelevant, due to the fact that the number of active people in our association is decreasing, and it just turns out that 1 individual takes on more things. And I, for example, don’t have adequate time and can’t knock on all these closed doors anymore. This chance to support the state institutions’ work was just lost. And erstwhile the news is “not new”, it will not attract an audience either, let’s say. That is, the time was lost. And erstwhile I talk to another public persons, NGOs representatives, just active people, they besides emphasize this problem: erstwhile you want to interact with the state apparatus, they frequently drag their feet and time is simply lost. I mean, it’s a pity that we waste resources this way. And the same, by the way, is actual for another families of fallen soldiers I talk to. The state institutions did not want to cooperate with us with the memorialization or disseminating information abroad. The families of the prisoners are besides not satisfied with the authoritative communication.
For respective years now, we have been trying to get a Day of Remembrance of Executed Prisoners established in Ukraine. This is simply a long communicative that has been going on since 2023. We created a petition, gained the required number of votes and sent it to all to Ukrainian MPs. Only 1 of them responded – Anatolii Ostapenko. He registered a draft resolution, but it has been under consideration since 2023. For example, I spoke about this subject at a gathering with Iryna Vereshchuk. The girls from our organization raised everything at the gathering with Yermak and Budanov. And no 1 denies that we request specified a day. They all support it, but do nothing.
There was a message by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian Policy, Nikita Poturaev, that the establishment of specified a day would overload the calendar. Our work with the manager of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, Anton Drobovych, has not gone badly. Now we are hoping to get in contact with Oleksandr Alfyorov, who has just been appointed head of the UINM. He told us in advance that he would be ready for a gathering in a fewer weeks.
Do you as an organization have any contacts with Azov, which is now expanding from a brigade to a corps?
We keep certain contacts. For example, they had a task in which they recorded interviews with mothers of Azov soldiers. I asked them to evidence an interview with the parent of my boyfriend Yaroslav Bais. They responded and recorded the interview. That is, there is no specified thing as us asking them and not getting an answer. But our most persistent requests are not to Azov, but to the state. For example, Azov besides supports the establishment of a Remembrance Day.
What else would you like to see done to memorialize the victims?
Obviously, memorials and monuments will be installed, and serious work is needed here, due to the fact that we’ve got any problems there as well. There was a communicative in Kremenchuk, where very large funds were allocated for a memorial alley dedicated to fallen soldiers, for its arrangement and installing banners with portraits. The banners installed are of very mediocre quality. As individual explained to me, they utilized the cheapest printing technology, and the alley itself was not decently arranged. There are large garbage containers close it, and the pavement there is broken. Since my boyfriend is from Kremenchuk and his parent lives there now, we and the household of another soldier who was killed in that barracks insisted on getting things done properly. The city authorities promised that they would arrange everything there this year. We’ll gotta check how things are going now. Since we have people from different cities, we request to make certain that everything is done correctly in each city. Of course, I know the general situation with the military cemetery close Kyiv, and what kind of gravestones are planned to be installed there, they should be unified, done decently of good quality materials, and so on.
We besides started producing our own merchandise. Recently, the artist Nitika Titov gave us a plan that we utilized to make pins to attach to clothes and backpacks. We are now selling them.
Do you plan to rise money for another projects by selling merchandise?
The sums of money we collect with the pin sales are very small. We will spend all the money received from sales on the production of the next batch of merchandise.
So you are trying to make a visual presence?
Yes. We realize that we can’t do something big, but we’re not going to halt anyway.
Do you meet frequently in the organization now?
No, not often. We usually meet erstwhile we have any work to do together. erstwhile there is simply a meeting, we go to Kyiv together. We all live in different cities.
How many active members do you have now?
Our most active members are the founders of the organization, that is, those who founded the NGO, 5 people. However, we have members from about 160 families. These are the families of those who died, those who were captured, and those who have been released in a prisoners’ exchange and returned home. In addition to our organization, many of our members are besides active in various local organizations. As I mentioned, my boyfriend’s parent lives in Kremenchuk, and they have a local organization (for household members of KIA and POW soldiers – ed.). There are 5 of us who are constantly working on social media and translating materials. And basically, if there is simply a task, we can share it between 5 people.
Our squad is small, and each of us besides does another things. Of the 5 of us, 2 are wives of POWs. The husband of 1 of our 5 had been fortunately released last autumn, and Ksenia and I are the 2 who have lost loved ones. The families of the prisoners are under quite a few stress due to the fact that they have no information, they don’t know what to hope for. And, of course, this greatly affects their ability to work. Maria, whose husband has returned, is now prioritizing her husband’s rehabilitation. Of course, there are so many things to do, and we just can’t work like people who get paid. So everything is slow, but from time to time we plan and implement something. And I think that since we are going to stay working on this for years, we will yet get what we plan to do. For the moment, we are very much invested in this plan to establish a Remembrance Day, due to the fact that if we don’t finalize it now, the thought will simply be lost. If we are distracted by another things, it will simply become irrelevant and disappear. And memorialization in our view is the key point of our work. After the Remembrance Day is established, we can start working on the next projects, possibly any smaller things.
Do you set yourself any intermediate or longtime goals in your work?
We have no circumstantial plans due to the fact that it is hard to foretell the situation in Ukraine for any considerable time, we just keep working all the time without pause.
Our main goal is to have a constant presence in the information sphere. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but the main thing is not to stop, not to treat it as a task that can close erstwhile 1 of us gets tired.
We have a task where we print memories of each of the victims on their birthdays. Recently, it was the birthday of Bohdan Hryshkevych, who died in the barracks. We published his story, and the plan included his photograph and story, besides with information in English. By the way, we translate everything into English for foreigners. I truly like this project, as we show people not any abstract Olenivka, but circumstantial people on their birthday. I think this task will be from year to year. Stories will change and memories will change. There will be another memories, another people, and another acquaintances with stories about the same people, and different image designs, but it will be a constant presence.
You mentioned that you are presently raising funds to support the Belarusian Volunteer Corps. How did you start working with them?
I erstwhile wrote straight to their commander asking him to share our materials about Olenivka, and he did. After that, I wanted to support them as well and yet offered to organize a fundraiser for them, and after it was completed, I continued to work with them. Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine deserve support. For example, if captured, they are likely to be killed in Russian captivity or sent to a prison in Belarus. Therefore, I besides urge our government to velocity up the process of legalization and granting citizenship for them, which will partially defend them in specified a situation.
A fewer days after recording of this interview the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine established the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who died in captivity. The Memorial Day was held for the first time on July 28th, 2025, and is dedicated to the memory of prisoners of war – both military and civilian.
Oleksandra Mazur is a typical of the “Olenivka Community” association.
Kateryna Pryshchepa is simply a Ukrainian writer and a contributing editor with New east Europe.
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