Ukrainian president rebukes ICRC for indecisiveness

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rebuked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“I do not see the ICRC’s decisiveness in connection with Ukrainian prisoners of war, RBC-Ukraine reports citing the president’s speech at the conference "UA: Human Rights in Dark Times".

“We must return everyone; this is our duty. When we do not see determination and concrete actions in the corresponding processes from such organisations as the International Committee of the Red Cross, we must look for and find new formats, new people in new realities,” the Ukrainian president said.

President Zelenskyy noted that the system of cooperation and interaction of ombudsmen can improve the situation.

He added that the Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has already joined the team working to return Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that it visited Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war last week. However, the details of the visit were not disclosed.