With September 6 marking the 40th day since a Russian missile attack claimed lives of 50 Ukrainian POWs in Russian-held Olenivka prison, Donetsk region, the family members of the killed soldiers organized  a press conference on Tuesday to call for an unbiased investigation into what came as an awful terror act.

The event organizers said that they are still kept in the dark about the exact numbers of the strike casualties and the names of the Ukrainian soldiers who had been in Olenivka at the time of that attack while the Red Cross representative were not allowed to be part of the probe.

Council of Ukrainian Wives and Mothers’ head, Nataliya Zarytska, said the UN set up its investigation group on Olenivka incident only 3.5 weeks later from the time it happened.

‘The commission is not able to launch its investigation as the situation at the blast site remains dangerous for the UN representatives,’ said Zarutska, adding the delay is a clear indication the Ukrainian captives are in  a ‘grave danger’.

‘If the world is afraid to admit the real state of things and fails to stop the evil terrorism after its manifestation in Olenivka, we will have to expect more sinister and gory mass crimes. We call for justice and demand to hold accountable the Russian Federation that keeps our servicemen in captivity,’ added  Zarutska.

Ukrainian captives must be either exchanged or ‘extracted to the third countries.

Anna Kalynchyk, who is on the lawyers’ team representing the families of Ukrainian POWs, said the international organizations like the UN and the Red Cross aren’t doing much while ‘remaining at the negotiating table’ with Russians where the only thing they demand is accounts of the incident. Stalling the Olenivka case can help Moscow cover up the tracks of its role in the death of Ukrainian captives, added Kalynchuk.