UN disbands prison killings probe in Ukraine over security

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has announced it is disbanding a fact-finding mission requested by Russia and Ukraine to investigate the killings at a prison in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. The warring nations have accused each other of carrying out the attack. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Thursday said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decided to disband the team in the absence of the required security guarantees. Dujarric said there was a “political agreement” by both sides for the fact-finding mission but adequate safety guarantees were never made. Russian officials said the attack killed 53 Ukrainian POWs and wounded another 75. Ukraine says the separatists colluded with Russians authorities to mine the barrack, causing a huge fire.