Head of Board of Civil Network OPORA Olga Aivazovska considers the death of Ukrainian soldiers in Olenivka to be a "demonstrative murder". According to her, russian leadership authorized this execution.
Olga Aivazovska noted,
"Such attacks and decisions could not have been implemented without the personal participation of the leadership of the russian federation. Therefore, our energy and anger should be directed at the creation of a tribunal for aggression, where the fact of this aggression will be proved in a legal way. The tribunal should be established on the basis of an international organization or through the bilateral agreements between the state and the state."
Since the Ukrainian military was protected by the norms of international law, in particular, the Geneva Convention, according to Olga Aivazovska, "this is not just a precedent, but a demonstrative murder". Therefore, September-October should be devoted to events that will help us recognize the russian federation as a state sponsor of terrorism. According to Olga Aivazovska, If the US shows movement towards this recognition, then our other partners will be ready for it as well.
"This process will end when russian society is held accountable for crimes committed either with its tacit consent or with its support for the war. Responsibility will not come very quickly, but it should come," Olga Aivazovska added.
In addition, the United Nations and the Red Cross must publicly report on the russian killing of Ukrainian soldiers in Olenivka. After all, when the soldiers were withdrawn from Azovstal, it is obvious that some guarantees of their safety were provided. According to Aivazovska, the guarantor organizations should impose sanctions for the disruption of agreements and the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
"When it comes to negotiations regarding the exchange of hostages or prisoners, of course guarantees are provided. No one is informed about the content of these guarantees until the moment of exchange. The fact that we do not know the content of the agreements is a generally accepted practice. However, when a violation of the agreement occurs, organizations that have undertaken certain guarantees must make this information public. If there were no such guarantees, then the question is why our military left there (Azovstal - ed.). If they received an order to leave, then there should have been certain guarantees. If some party did not comply with them, then there should be sanctions. If these sanctions cannot be imposed by the UN and the Red Cross, then those countries that finance the UN and the Red Cross must do so. These are organizations that receive billion-dollar budgets, so they have to justify their existence with the efficiency of their work," she said.
"The UN and the Red Cross were part of the negotiation process. Now, realizing that it has been disrupted, they must publicly announce or report to their sponsoring countries how effective they are and who caused this disruption. After all, Ukraine also invests in the Red Cross, and Ukraine is part of the United Nations. If the device is ineffective, then we must draw conclusions. Did the russians break these agreements? Was the content of these agreements not supported by serious guarantees? What will happen if russia breaks these guarantees?" Olga Aivazovska said.
Ukraine should demand accountability from the UN and the Red Cross.