Russia destroys more than 20 URCS offices, warehouses during war – Dotsenko
During the war, Russian occupation forces damaged and destroyed more than 20 offices and warehouses of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS), Director General of the URCS Maksym Dotsenko has said.
"We have more than 20 offices and warehouses damaged or completely destroyed," he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency.
According to Dotsenko, the office of the Kherson regional organization alone, located in the city center, was hit by enemy shells three times after the de-occupation and a URCS volunteer was killed while performing her duties there.
"As for the East, in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, virtually all our offices there were destroyed. In Mariupol, even at the initial stage of evacuation, when we were leaving it, not even the foundation of the office was left. Warehouses burned in Odesa and Kherson regions," he said.
The head of the URCS expressed regret that the Red Cross emblem does not protect its employees and volunteers during this war.
"The Red Cross and its emblem are protected by the Geneva Conventions. The emblem has two functions – protection and identification. It is on our uniforms, on vehicles, at our facilities, our offices. It informs that these are representatives of the Red Cross, that in no case do they pose any threat and their task is to help people who find themselves in a difficult situation. That is why there is a law of Ukraine on the symbols of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal. But, unfortunately, the Russian Federation does not adhere to these rules. And our emergency response teams have repeatedly come under their fire," Dotsenko said.