Donetsk villages fall, POW death raises questions: 5 August 2024

What did the reports reaching Kyiv in the days before 5 August 2024 say about the state of the war in Donetsk Oblast and about Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia? Two strands stood out: continued Russian claims of territorial gains, and a dispute over the death of a captured soldier.

Claims of advances in Donetsk Oblast

On 30 July 2024, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had taken control of the settlement of Pivdenne in Donetsk region. On 4 August 2024, Russia said its armed forces had captured the village of Novoselivka Persha, also in Donetsk Oblast. Both were presented as part of the Eastern Ukraine campaign, and both were Russian statements. Two such claims within a week showed the pressure on that part of the front.

A prisoner's death and a mass trial

On 31 July 2024, Ukraine demanded that Russia explain the death in captivity of Ukrainian prisoner of war Oleksandr Ishchenko. He was being tried with 21 other captured Ukrainian troops on the grounds that they had belonged to the Azov Brigade, which Russian prosecutors allege is far-right affiliated.

The case is tied to the siege of Mariupol, which began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May 2022. It ended with Ukrainian forces surrendering at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works after being ordered to cease fighting. Russia and the Donetsk People's Republic were the victors in that siege, and Ukraine lost control of the city.

What the period showed

Taken together, the reports pointed to two parallel concerns for Ukrainian authorities: the steady loss of settlements in Donetsk Oblast, and the treatment of captured soldiers whose fate was in Russian hands. Ukraine's demand for an explanation over Ishchenko's death was a public call for accountability, while the ongoing trial of the 22 defendants continued.