Red Cross first-time calls russia’s war in Ukraine international military conflict, not a crisis

For the first time, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called the russian-Ukrainian war not a "crisis in Ukraine" but an international military conflict.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said this during a working trip to Zaporizhzhia, Ukrinform reports.

"We have high hopes for the new president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, appointed 11 days ago… We first saw the international term 'russian-Ukrainian international military conflict.' Before that, even in the official papers, the ICRC used the term 'crisis in Ukraine,' a 'conflict' that is not provided for by international law at all," Lubinets said.

He arrived in Zaporizhzhia with several Ukrainian MPs, including Maria Mezentseva, Yehor Chernev, Denys Maslov, and Olena Khomenko.

The MPs said that they demanded the ICRC fulfill its mandate.

"An internationally respected international organization does not at all fulfill its mandate to visit prisoners of war and civilian hostages held in the temporarily occupied territories and on the territory of the russian federation, and covers it up by not having been permitted the russian federation to do so… At every exchange, we see that the ICRC's inaction has resulted in our prisoners of war and civilian hostages being tortured every day. I was not wrong. Every day. They are being tormented by hunger, electricity, and torture precisely because the russians know that the ICRC will not come and will not demand access to the sites keeping prisoners of war and civilian hostages. So, you can do whatever you want with Ukrainian citizens in captivity," Lubinets said.

The press secretary of the Head of the President's Office, Daria Zarivna, noted that today, October 17, the Red Cross mission was supposed to be prepared and go across the demarcation line to Olenivka, where the prisoners are being held.

"War is a time of examination for people and international organizations. Unfortunately, the Red Cross fails this examination. They not only tolerate russian violations of all norms of international law but also tolerate them in silence," Zarivna was quoted as saying.

The officials said that the time has come to raise the issue of ICRC activities in Ukraine and around the world. Also, the organization must recognize that the russian federation is violating the Geneva Conventions.

Lubinets noted that Ukraine managed to return home about 800 prisoners of war and civilian prisoners.