Participants of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed access of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and other impartial international organizations to a “buffer zone” created by the Ukrainian armed forces in Russia’s Kursk region.
This was stated by the Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports.
According to him, he “took part in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where issues of stabilization measures in the Kursk region were discussed.”
The Ombudsman said that in exercising its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Ukraine has the right not only to defend itself but also to comply with all international conventions and requirements of international humanitarian law. “Therefore, our armed forces have established a ‘buffer (sanitary) zone’ in the Kursk region for the purpose of self-defense.”
The meeting participants discussed security guarantees in this area, including Ukraine’s compliance with international humanitarian law, the Hague Conventions of 1907 and the Geneva Conventions. The Ukrainian military fully complies with these obligations.
“The meeting also discussed the issue of access for representatives of the ICRC, the UN and other impartial international organizations in carrying out humanitarian operations. The supply of food, medicine and other necessary goods to the civilian population in the ‘buffer zone’ must be ensured,” Lubinets said.
Following the meeting, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk posted on Facebook that Russian civilians are under the protection of international humanitarian law in the created “security zone” in Russia. Accordingly, the Ukrainian Armed Forces plan to:
- Carrying out humanitarian operations to assist the civilian population within the designated zone;
- Opening humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians to both Russia and Ukraine; and
- grant international humanitarian organisations access for humanitarian assistance and monitoring of the humanitarian situation.
Photo credit: Office of the President of Ukraine
