United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the UN’s efforts to establish a fact-finding mission into the attack that killed more than 150 Ukrainian prisoners of war at Olenivka late in July.
He said the terms of reference for such a mission had been shared with Ukraine and Russia, and he had appointed a Brazilian general with long experience of peacekeeping operations, Carlos dos Santos Cruz, to lead the mission.
The Russian defense ministry said immediately after the attack that it was inviting the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the site, but the ICRC later said its requests had gone unanswered.
Each side has accused the other of being behind the attack, but a CNN investigation found that the Russian version of what had happened was highly unlikely.
In remarks distributed by his office, Guterres said the UN “will now continue to work to obtain the necessary assurances to guarantee secure access to the site and any other relevant locations.”