The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) denies involvement in the deportation of Ukrainians to Russia and declares that there is no necessary representation in the Russian Federation for effective work.
ICRC Operations Director Dominik Stillhart said this in an interview with Ukrainian News Agency.
"I am aware of these accusations (of helping the deportation of Ukrainians to Russia). I can tell you that they are absolutely groundless. We have never supported and would never support deportation, the removal of people somewhere against their will. This is completely contrary to our principles, we have never done it and never will," he said.
Stillhart noted that the organization does not yet have an office in Rostov-on-Don, the opening of which caused a lot of discussion in the public sphere, the ICRC currently has a delegation in Moscow.
The ICRC is negotiating with Moscow to open an office in Rostov, as it strives for the organization to have representative offices around the entire perimeter of Ukraine, in all border areas.
There are such representations of the ICRC in Poland, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania.
"The humanitarian consequences in Ukraine are so massive that they also affect the border areas. It is important for us that we have a presence in all territories in order to provide support to all the people who have suffered as a result of the conflict," the ICRC director explained.
He noted that the Red Cross helps people to travel safely wherever they want, such operations were organized in Sumy, Severodonetsk, Kramatorsk, Mariupol.
According to him, precisely because the ICRC does not have sufficient representation in Russia, he cannot officially name the number of Ukrainians who have left for Russia since the beginning of active hostilities, since February 24, he only has information that was voiced in the media, where it was reported about 800,000 people who left for Russia, but cannot officially confirm this figure.
He also noted that the ICRC has no data on Ukrainians forcibly taken to Russia and on their content in the so-called filtration camps.
As Ukrainian News Agency reported, on March 25, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk said that Ukraine calls on the ICRC to help obtain a list of Ukrainians forcibly deported from Mariupol to Russia from Russia and ensure their safe return.
Vereshchuk also criticized the intention of the ICRC to open an office in Rostov-on-Don.
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