The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine asks the UN and the ICRC to work in the Kursk region
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has officially appealed to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross with a request to join the humanitarian response measures in the areas of the Kursk region of Russia that are under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As stated in the statement published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a corresponding note was sent to the UN. Kyiv also made a similar request to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Ukrainian MFA also offered this organization to monitor compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law in the territories occupied by the Russian Armed Forces.
The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the Ukrainian military “adheres to all norms and principles of international humanitarian law and human rights.” “From the first days of the Kursk operation, the Defense Forces of Ukraine, as a civilized European army, showed high professionalism and full compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law. Civilians in the territory of the Kursk region received and continue to receive humanitarian aid, satisfaction of basic humanitarian needs, the possibility of leaving the areas of hostilities”, – the statement says.
Since the beginning of August, Ukraine has been under control, according to various estimates, from a few hundred to more than a thousand square kilometers of the territory of the Kursk region, including the Suja district center and dozens of settlements. A part of the inhabitants remain on these territories, their exact number is unknown, we are talking about at least hundreds of people. The Russian authorities accuse Ukraine of killing civilians and looting, but there are no independent confirmations of these accusations.
In the Kursk region, active hostilities continue; in recent days, the Russian military has recaptured several villages. Relatives of the people remaining in Suzhe and its surroundings previously wrote to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. They are asking to organize a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of their relatives. Relatives of civilians worry that in the event of a massive counteroffensive by the Russian army in the region, their relatives will have little chance of survival. Under the letter are the signatures of 90 people. Open the humanitarian corridor was also called by the Nobel Laureate, the editor-in-chief of “Novaya Gazeta” Dmitry Muratov. The Russian authorities have not yet responded to these appeals. They are also not mentioned in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The obligations of the occupying power towards the civilian population are defined by the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949 on the Protection of the Civilian Population in Time of War. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of violating this convention in relation to residents of occupied Ukrainian territories.
