Red Cross visits more POWs held by Russia and Ukraine

Ukrainian prisoners of war who were released as part of a prisoner swap with Russia at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, June 29, 2022. Keystone / Defense Intelligence Ministry Of

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says that in recent weeks it has visited more prisoners of war (POWs) held by Russia and Ukraine, which represents “important progress” in its humanitarian work amid the ongoing war.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Geneva-based body has reached hundreds of prisoners on both sides. But until now that access has been “sporadic”, it said.

The Swiss-run ICRC saidExternal link on Thursday that the latest series of visits had allowed Red Cross delegates to check on POWs’ “condition and treatment and share much-awaited news with their families”.

The teams were also able to provide basic items such as books, personal hygiene items, blankets and warm clothes.

“These visits are an important step forward in preserving humanity amid the brutality of the international armed conflict,” said ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric.

“We are able to check how prisoners of war are being treated and to make sure families receive updates. My expectation is that these visits lead to more regular access to all prisoners of war.”

‘Important progress’

The ICRC said that while the recent visits represented “important progress”, the organisation must be granted “unimpeded access to see all prisoners of war repeatedly and in private, wherever they are held”.

The humanitarian organisation, which has its headquarters in Geneva, has been regularly criticised by the Ukrainian authorities for not doing enough in the face of Russian violations of the Geneva Conventions.

“We don’t see them struggling to get access to camps where Ukrainians are prisoners of war and where political prisoners are held,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech to the G20 on November 15. “Nor do they help us to find Ukrainians who have been deported.” He claimed the ICRC was disengaging and self-destructing.

The organisation has repeatedly defended itself, arguing that it has been “moving heaven and earth” to gain access to all prisoners of war in the Ukraine war.

The Third Geneva Convention obliges all parties to an international armed conflict to grant the ICRC access to all prisoners of war and the right to visit them wherever they are held. Russia and Ukraine are both parties to the treaty.

In its latest press release, the ICRC said it had carried out one two-day visit to Ukrainian prisoners of war last week, with another happening this week. During the same period, visits were also carried out to Russian prisoners of war, with more visits planned by the end of the month.

It is unclear how many POWs are being held by Russia and Ukraine. It was reported in late November that Kyiv and Moscow have so far swapped more than 1,000 prisoners of war since the beginning of the conflict.