numerous Red Cross personnel met their demise in Ukraine
The Red Cross expresses deep sorrow: "We're devastated," pens President Mirjana Spoljaric. The organization has suffered a significant loss, as three of its employees met their end and two more were wounded due to attacks in eastern Ukraine. Additionally, Russian forces targeted a grain delivery convoy with shelling.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) declared today that it is grieving the loss of three team members in eastern Ukraine. President Mirjana Spoljaric expressed her condolences, stating, "Our hearts are shattered as we mourn the demise of our colleagues." She strongly denounced the attack on Red Cross personnel, terming it as inhumane. She further lamented that it was sheer recklessness to fire upon a location distributing humanitarian aid.
The humanitarian aid distribution, which was to provide essentials like firewood and coal for the upcoming winter, had not yet commenced. Therefore, no civilians were harmed in the ensuing explosion. Spoljaric advocated for the respect of international humanitarian law.
Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets revealed that the deceased were three Ukrainian nationals employed by the ICRC. They were casualties of artillery fire in the village of Wyrwyliwka, a contentious area close to the front line. He urged the ICRC to formally acknowledge Russia's breach of Geneva Conventions' norms.
Zelensky: "Russia is the villain"
"Another heinous act by Russia," wrote President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram. "Today, the aggressor targeted the relief vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Donetsk region."
Zelensky declared, "In this battle, everything is crystal clear - Russia is the villain, Ukraine is defending life." He urged states and international organizations to take action against Russia's violence. "Only united, can the world compel Russia to halt this terror and push Moscow towards peace," he said.
On X, the president reported that Russia had targeted a civilian cargo ship carrying wheat for Egypt with a missile post its departure from Ukrainian coastal waters in the Black Sea. Thankfully, no casualties were reported. Zelensky underlined the importance of Ukrainian grain exports for global food security and appealed for international intervention. "Wheat and food security should never be targets of missiles," he said. Nevertheless, these allegations are yet to be corroborated independently.
In the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the Russian army has been advancing towards the strategically significant city of Pokrovsk for weeks, despite Ukraine's counteroffensive in the Russian region of Kursk, which began on August 6. Now, Russia has retaliated with a counteroffensive in Kursk, Zelensky announced. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Russian units of the Northern troops had "liberated ten settlements during offensive operations in the border region within two days."
The international community has expressed outrage over the attack on Red Cross personnel in eastern Ukraine, with Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets accusing Russia of breaching Geneva Conventions' norms.
As a result of this attack, Ukrainian nationals employed by the ICRC lost their lives and several others were injured, underscoring the danger posed to humanitarian aid workers in conflict zones.
