Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian side regarding the humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region. Lubinets announced this on Telegram, as reported by UNN.
The city of Oleshky is not living, but surviving! I have appealed to the ICRC and the Russian side. The city faces a catastrophic shortage of drinking water, unstable electricity and gas supplies, and limited medical care. People are forced to conserve every drop of water and every crumb of food. And attempts to deliver food result in the death of drivers or disruptions of transportation due to mortal danger on the roads!
He emphasized that this is not just a humanitarian crisis. This is deliberate terrorism by the Russian Federation against the civilian population.
Appeal to the ICRC and the Russian Federation
Lubinets noted that at the beginning of the month, he had already appealed to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation and to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
- In his appeal to the Russian side, he called for the provision of a humanitarian corridor for the safe evacuation of civilians from Oleshky and surrounding settlements. He also spoke about the need to comply with international humanitarian law regarding the protection of civilians.
- The appeal to the ICRC demands that they use their mandate to facilitate a humanitarian dialogue between the Ukrainian and Russian sides, organize a safe route for civilian evacuation, and ensure access to humanitarian aid for those who are effectively left without food and water.
The Ombudsman emphasized that after almost a month, the situation has not changed. Although the occupying state, in accordance with international humanitarian law, namely Articles 55 and 59 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, must provide the civilian population with food, medical supplies, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Ukraine is fighting for every one of its citizens. And the world must give a clear assessment of these actions! And the ICRC must move from observation to decisive action – because the price of delay is measured in human lives