Red Cross Head in Moscow on Ukraine Humanitarian Issues
Millions of Ukrainians inside and outside their country need humanitarian aid
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross is in Moscow to discuss humanitarian issues in Ukraine caused by Russia’s invasion last month. Peter Maurer plans to speak with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Russian Red Cross about ways to alleviate suffering in the war-town country. “The devastation caused by the conflict in recent weeks, as well as eight years of conflict in Donbas, has been vast. There are practical steps guided by international humanitarian law that the parties must take to limit the suffering. I was in Kyiv last week and I’m in Moscow this week to continue the discussion with the authorities on these steps,” said Maurer in a press release. He also plans to talk about ongoing humanitarian issues in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. Last week, the U.N. refugee agency warned that millions of Ukrainians inside and outside their country desperately need humanitarian and protection assistance as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalates and spreads to new areas of the country. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said more than 3.2 million people have fled Ukraine in search of safety in neighboring countries. More than 2 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, and about 13 million are affected in the areas hardest hit by the war. Those places include cities such as Mariupol and Sumy, where Russia has relentlessly bombed residential areas and destroyed civilian infrastructure.