Yevhen Kaplin, founder and chairman of the Proliska humanitarian mission, called on those responsible for mobilization to cease the practice of calling up humanitarian workers directly involved in the evacuation of civilians from frontline areas after the mobilization of a tow truck driver from the Ukrainian Red Cross rapid response unit.
"I call on those responsible for mobilization to stop this practice. Not after another scandal. Not after another tragedy. Not when people are left on the bus with no one to take them out, but right now!" he wrote on Facebook.
According to Kaplin, after the driver's mobilization, the evacuees remained in the vehicle in the middle of the road. "You can't take a tow truck driver and leave the people he's evacuating in the middle of the road," he wrote.
Kaplin reported that since 2022, the Proliska humanitarian mission has mobilized more than 150 staff, volunteers, and service providers, about two-thirds of whom are rapid response team members and tow trucks.
He also cited examples of tow truck driver mobilization in Mykolaiv region, after which, he said, certain evacuation routes from frontline areas had to be suspended due to a lack of drivers.
"We cannot weaken the humanitarian system where it is literally supporting people's lives today," Kaplin emphasized.
He called for the creation of a clear mechanism to ensure that humanitarian workers directly involved in evacuating and providing assistance to civilians in frontline areas are not recalled from their work unless absolutely necessary.
Kaplin also expressed hope that the Red Cross driver would be released to continue humanitarian work, and that the rapid response team in Kherson region would resume operations as soon as possible.
As reported, on the morning of August 14, police in Mykolaiv region detained a volunteer driver with the Kherson Rapid Response Team of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, who was evacuating people from a dangerous area in Kherson, specifically, an elderly woman, a cancer patient, and a 3-year-old child, according to the team's Facebook page.
