On 28 July, Ukraine will officially commemorate for the first time the defenders who died in Russian captivity. This day was not chosen at random — on the night of 29 July 2022, Russian troops committed one of the most brutal crimes of the full-scale war, carrying out a terrorist attack in a colony in occupied Olenivka in the Donetsk region.
Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including defenders of Mariupol, were killed in the deliberate explosion. The event became a painful symbol of Russia’s inhumane treatment of prisoners and gross violation of international humanitarian law.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decided to commemorate the Day of Remembrance for those who died in Russian captivity every year on 28 July. The initiative came from the public and was supported in order to preserve the memory of those who never returned home.
This date is intended to remind not only Ukrainians but also the international community of the price of the struggle for freedom and independence. According to the National Commission for Ensuring the Rights of Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances, remembering the dead means preventing the tragedy from happening again.
On this day, memorial services, moments of silence, commemorative exhibitions and public events are held in Ukraine to honour the heroes who did not return from captivity.
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