The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) asks for immediate access to all prisoners of the war between Russian and Ukraine, including those held in the colony in Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region, and says that it has not received access to a number of detention facilities.

"We share the frustration regarding our lack of access to all prisoners of war (POWs) held in the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We have been working since February to obtain access to check on the conditions and treatment of POWs and keep their families informed about their loved ones. We have been able to visit hundreds of POWs but there are thousands more who we have not been able to see," the ICRC said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

"The Third Geneva Convention obliges parties to an international armed conflict to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) immediate access to all POWs, and the right to visit them wherever they are held. We want to stress that our teams are ready on the ground – and have been ready for months – to visit the Olenivka penal facility and any other location where POWs are held. However, beyond being granted access by high levels of authority, this requires practical arrangements to materialize on the ground. We cannot access by force a place of detention or internment where we have not been admitted," it said.

All States that have committed to respect the Geneva Conventions have a legal obligation to give the ICRC access to visit POWs.

"It also helps preserve humanity in an international armed conflict that has created immeasurable loss for countless families. Our mission can only be achieved through coordinated efforts with parties to the conflict. And we ask them and the international community to support the role we have been given," the ICRC said.

As reported, on October 13, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an International Red Cross Mission in Ukraine on the model of the IAEA Mission.

"I believe that the International Committee of the Red Cross is not a club with privileges where they get paid and enjoy life. The Red Cross has obligations, primarily of a moral nature. The mandate of the Red Cross must be fulfilled," Zelensky said.

"It is necessary to immediately do what is completely logical for the Red Cross. There is Olenivka. In fact, a concentration camp where our prisoners are kept. Access to them is required, as it was stipulated. The Red Cross can make it happen. But you have to try to make it happen. Ukraine is ready to facilitate this," he stressed.