UN responds to Ukraine's MFA call to join humanitarian response in Kursk region

The appeal to the UN and the Red Cross was published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 16.

The ministry stressed that Ukraine adheres to its international obligations in the field of international humanitarian law, in particular, the protection of civilians during hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. 

‘From the very first days of the Kursk operation, the Ukrainian Defence Forces, as a civilised European army, have demonstrated high professionalism and full compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law. Civilians in the Kursk region have received and continue to receive humanitarian aid, basic humanitarian needs, and the opportunity to leave the combat areas,’ the Foreign Ministry stressed.

Therefore, taking into account the humanitarian situation and the need to ensure the fundamental human rights in the Kursk region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appealed to the United Nations to join the humanitarian response in the area and sent a note to the UN.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed a note to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the guarantor of international humanitarian law, asking it to join the humanitarian response and monitor compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law in accordance with the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949.

‘Ukraine reaffirms its strict compliance with its international obligations in these areas and is ready to provide full assistance to the UN and ICRC staff in these territories,’ the ministry said.

UN reaction

On September 17, the UN said that it was ready to arrive in the territory of the Kursk region controlled by Ukraine, but that the organisation's representatives needed permission from the Russian Federation, Voice of America reports, citing UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

The Red Cross has not yet responded to the request.

The Kremlin's reaction and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's response

Meanwhile, the Russian dictator's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called Ukraine's invitation to UN and ICRC representatives to visit the territories of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, which are now controlled by the Armed Forces, a provocation. 

‘We expect that such provocative statements will not be perceived by the recipients. This is a pure kind of provocation,’ Peskov said.

In his turn, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said that such a statement by the Russian authorities ‘testifies to Russia's disregard for its own people’.

‘The Kremlin's reaction to Ukraine's proposal to the UN and the ICRC to join humanitarian efforts in the Kursk region shows that Russia is ignoring its own people and their humanitarian needs, as well as its fear of allowing international observers to see the real situation. Quite eloquently,’ he wrote on the social network X.

• On September 1, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that residents of the Russian Kursk region complained to the Ukrainian military that Russia was not allowing civilians to use the evacuation corridor.