New ICRC president on access to Ukrainian POWs: ‘It’s my priority’

Egger made a corresponding statement during a video call with Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, the President's press service reports.

Yermak congratulated Egger on the recent assumption of office and expressed hope that the ICRC would successfully overcome complex humanitarian problems, in particular those caused by Russia's war against Ukraine, under her leadership.

The Head of the President’s Office said that the current human rights situation in the occupied territories of Ukraine is unprecedented for Europe and the world over the past decades. The same is true of the treatment of Ukrainian POWs and civilians in places of detention.

Yermak urged Egger to do everything possible to send the ICRC mission to the penal facility in Olenivka in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region, where more than 50 defenders of Ukraine were killed in a Russian terrorist attack at the end of July. According to him, Ukraine is ready to facilitate this mission in every possible way.

"Today is a critical moment. This war is a test for everyone: for Ukraine, for international organizations," he said.

The Head of the President’s Office believes that ICRC representatives should arrive at the contact line in the east of Ukraine on October 17. This would be a very important step.

Egger pointed out the importance of ICRC staff having access to prisoners of war, particularly in Olenivka.

"It’s my priority. And we will continue to demand access," the ICRC President said.

As reported, on the night of July 29, a powerful explosion occurred in the territory of former penal facility No. 210 in the town of Olenivka, in the building where Ukrainian prisoners of war were kept. According to the Russian side, about 50 Ukrainian defenders were killed, and more than 70 were seriously injured. The Ukrainian military personnel, who left the surrounded Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol under the guarantee of international organizations so that they could be exchanged in the future, were held in the penal facility in Olenivka.

President Zelensky called on the ICRC to act more decisively and put pressure on Russia to be granted access to Ukrainian prisoners.

The ICRC stated that they "share the frustration regarding our lack of access to all prisoners of war held in the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine." The organization asked for immediate and unimpeded access to all prisoners of war.

On October 13, Yermak demanded the ICRC send its mission to the penal facility in Olenivka in the coming days.

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