The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has 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. accounts for their "atrocities".
The conversation between Blinken and Kuleba occurred yesterday, Friday, after the attack on the prison, located in the town of Yelenovka (also known as Olenivka, in Ukrainian), was known, the State Department spokesman reported in a statement this Saturday. , NedPrice.
During the call, according to Price, Blinken "reaffirmed America's 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 of the Russian private military company Wagner. Meanwhile, Russia and pro-Russian separatists blame Kyiv and Washington for claiming 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 US State Department has limited itself to blaming Russia in its statement and has not gone into whether the operation was orchestrated by Wagner.
Blinken also spoke yesterday by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in his first contact since the start of the war, 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 stressed the United States' "unwavering support" for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Blinken also conveyed to Kuleba his hope that the agreement between Ukraine and Russia to end the blockade of wheat grains that are stored in Ukraine will be fulfilled soon, in order to guarantee the global flow of grain and avoid famines.
