Donetsk villages claimed and a POW's death: 5 August 2024
A look back at the reports on Russian claims in Donetsk Oblast and Ukraine's demand for answers over a prisoner's death in captivity.
What was the situation in Ukraine's east as of 5 August 2024? Reports from the preceding days pointed to two strands: Russian claims of further territorial gains in Donetsk Oblast, and a dispute over the death of a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
Claims in Donetsk Oblast
On 4 August 2024, Russia said its armed forces had captured the village of Novoselivka Persha in Donetsk Oblast. Days earlier, on 30 July 2024, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had taken control of the settlement of Pivdenne in the Donetsk region. Both announcements came from the Russian side, as part of the Eastern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion.
A prisoner's death
On 31 July 2024, Ukraine demanded that Russia explain the death in Russian captivity of Ukrainian prisoner of war Oleksandr Ishchenko. He was being tried together with 21 other captured Ukrainian troops. Russian prosecutors allege that the Azov Brigade, in which they were accused of serving, is far-right affiliated.
The case traces back to the siege of Mariupol, which began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May 2022. It ended with Ukraine losing control of the city, after all Ukrainian troops remaining at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works surrendered on 20 May 2022 following an order to cease fighting.
Together, the reports from the final days of July and the first days of August 2024 showed Moscow announcing new positions in Donetsk Oblast while Kyiv pressed for accountability over the treatment of captured soldiers.
