The strictly neutral organization emphasizes that parties to the conflict are obliged to grant Red Cross employees access to prisoners of war, as laid down in international treaties. However, the aid workers do need permission from the party holding the detainees. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that Moscow has invited the Red Cross to visit.
It is still completely unclear what happened in the prison camp in Olenivka. According to a Ukrainian reading, Russians drove the POWs into a barracks and then detonated it. About fifty detainees were killed. Russians and pro-Russian rebels claim Ukraine fired missiles at the building.