Zelenski asks Red Cross to “fight” to gain access to Ukrainian prisoners

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Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski on Thursday called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to “fight” and put pressure on the Russian government to gain access to Ukrainian prisoners of war.

During a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Zelenski has insisted that Kiev “cannot fight for them,” so he has pointed out that it should be Red Cross who “fights for it because it is their job.” “They are paid for it, the world is watching them, they should put pressure on Russia.”

In this regard, he has stressed that the Russian side “ignores all the rules when it comes to treating prisoners of war” and has accused the Russian forces of killing 50 prisoners in Olenivka alone. He also recalled that all of them are still being tortured by the “Russian invaders”, according to Ukrinform news agency.

Zelenski has taken the opportunity to warn that Red Cross has not had access to prisoners of war during eight years of war in the east of the country. “They have probably made an effort, but we don’t hear that they have gone to those areas and been prevented from entering. I don’t see them at the borders and I don’t see them making constant statements to the media or to the UN,” he insisted.

For this reason, he has emphasized the importance of organizations such as the Red Cross “acting with greater force.”

Zelenski has again called for the creation of a special international tribunal to try alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces on Ukrainian territory, a mechanism by which Moscow should pay compensation for its actions, among other measures.

“Europe can play a historic role in creating a special court related to the Russian aggression of Ukraine – let’s do it! This will be the best way to protect the principles of international law”, he pointed out.

He also stated that “a compensation mechanism must be created” and stressed that there is already a project outlined by the Ukrainian government. “It is only necessary to support it at the European level and before the UN General Assembly”, he added.

“We must continue the dialogue to make the Russian aggressor state and its murderers pay for their actions, for every manifestation of terror,” he concluded.