Russia makes the Islamic New Year Ukraine’s National Day of Mourning

JAKARTA – Dozens of original POWs Ukraine in Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, which should have been protected under the Geneva Conventions, were killed intentionally by troops Russia approaching Muslim New Year .

The Hijri New Year or 1 Muharram 2022 which falls on Saturday 30 July as a commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad SAW making the hijrah from Mecca to Medina, which this year has been designated by the Ukrainian government as a National Holiday, has become a day of national mourning.

Baca: Zelensky Condemns Russian Attack on Prisoners of War

As stated in the release from the Ukrainian Embassy received by Sindonews, the grief of the Ukrainian people occurred after Friday (29/7/2022). On that day, at least 50 prisoners of war were killed by Russian troops. They included fighters from the Azov Battalion who defended the Azovstal Steel Plant in fierce fighting in Mariupol for months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Azovstal fighters in Mariupol who laid down arms and surrendered to Russian troops were mediated by the United Nations and the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC), including guarantees for their health and safety.

“Now the guarantors (UN and ICRC) have to react. They had to protect the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war. And I add myself: there must be clear legal recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” he stressed in an official statement.

Geneva Convention III of 1949 concerning the protection of prisoners of war (prisoner of war) states that under any circumstances, prisoners of war have the right to humane treatment and respect for themselves and their honor and to retain full civilian capabilities.

Baca: Russia Invites UN and Red Cross Experts to Investigate Prisoners of War Camp Bombing

Azovstal fighters who are part of the fighters in article 45 of Additional Protocol I 1977 are described as “considered prisoners of war so that they must be protected by Geneva Convention III 1949” so that they are entitled to health and safety protection.

The Ukrainian Security Service’s intercepts of communications by Russian troops found that Russian forces were responsible for the tragedy in the Donetsk region controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.

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