13:38 02.04.2020

ICRC in Ukraine ready to visit prisoners in Russia-occupied areas if access is available

2 min read
ICRC in Ukraine ready to visit prisoners in Russia-occupied areas if access is available

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Ukraine is ready to visit prisoners in detention facilities in Russia-occupied areas of Donbas as soon as access is granted to it, Media Relations Officer of the ICRC Delegation in Ukraine Oleksandr Vlasenko has said.

"Yes, we are ready to carry out this work. This is our work indeed, we have people who are ready to visit detention facilities and they already do this in the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine. In general, we are quite satisfied with the access to detention facilities in the controlled territory we have," he said in an exclusive interview to Interfax-Ukraine.

Vlasenko also said that if the ICRC in Ukraine receives access to people in the uncontrolled territories, who were detained in connection with the conflict, the organization is ready to carry out this mission, which was discussed during the Normandy-format summit, at once.

The conflict in Donbas escalated last week and the civilians suffered from military operations, he said.

"Of course, we are concerned, and we are drawing attention of the sides to the fact that they must observe international humanitarian law, while the critical civil infrastructure facilities should not become targets during military operations, as lives of people living in those territories depend on their operation," Vlasenko said.

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