Russia attempts to use meeting with Red Cross President for propaganda - ISW
Photo: ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric (icrc.org)
Russian officials attempted to use a meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to legitimize Russia's occupation of Ukraine and spread false narratives about alleged human rights violations by Ukrainians, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric met with Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, who has an arrest warrant issued against her by the International Criminal Court, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova, and President of the Russian Red Cross Pavel Savchuk in Moscow on September 17.
Spoljaric reiterated that states must adhere to international humanitarian law, including granting the ICRC access to prisoners of war, and emphasized the need to protect humanitarian workers following the recent deaths of three ICRC staff members due to shelling on the front lines in the Donetsk region.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the meeting focused on humanitarian issues in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Europe, and Asia, as well as ICRC activities in Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry asserted that the Russian delegation discussed alleged human rights violations by Ukrainians, including the treatment of prisoners of war and civilians.
The ISW notes that there are numerous reports of cruel treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces, including executions and the illegal deportation of Ukrainian civilians and children to Russia. Russia has not fully opened its facilities holding prisoners of war to ICRC inspectors, whereas Ukraine has regularly allowed access to its main prisoner-of-war camp.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets stated in July 2024 that most Ukrainian prisoners of war who returned home reported that they did not see or communicate with ICRC representatives while in captivity.
Previously, Russian officials attempted to use the visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant to falsely portray Ukraine as a threat of a radiological incident that, according to Russian claims, would undermine Western support for Ukraine.
