UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2023) The International Committee of the Red Cross recent visit to prisoners of war on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict is a positive direction but access to all prisoners has to be granted, ICRC Spokesperson in Kiev Achille Despres told Sputnik.
"Recently, we have been able to make some new visits of Ukrainian prisoners of war and Russian prisoners of war. This is a very positive step. We think this is a step in the right direction," Despres said. "And we hope that this will lead in the future to regular unimpeded and full access to these prisoners of war because this is a legal obligation from both parties to the conflict to give us that access and it's also a humanitarian imperative for us to be able to check on their conditions and inform their family."
The ICRC cannot comment publicly on the conditions of the prisoners as that is something that is passed bilaterally only to Moscow and Kiev, he added.
The organization has also been actively asking the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to give full access because it is their legal obligation.
"We have been able to access several hundreds of them (prisoners of war) on both sides, but we know that there are 1000s more that we need to have access to," Despres said.
In November last year, the spokeswoman for the ICRC Moscow delegation, Galina Balzamova, told Sputnik that the organization is monitoring all cases of human rights violations and inhumane treatment in Ukraine prohibited by international law.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow demanded that international organizations condemn the execution of Russian prisoners of war by Kiev forces and conduct a thorough investigation. All those involved in the execution of Russian prisoners in Ukraine would be identified, no one will escape retribution, she added.
The ICRC has been working in Ukraine since 2014. It has been providing humanitarian assistance, including food, water and other essential items, to the civilian population suffering from attacks on critical infrastructure. The organization has significantly intensified its activities after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
