President Volodymyr Zelensky accused international humanitarian organizations of refusing to help victims of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station explosion.
After the explosion of the Kherson hydroelectric power station, Ukraine urgently needs the help of international humanitarian organizations in rescuing people in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region, which is suffering from flooding. This was announced yesterday by President Volodymyr Zelensky. But these organizations, which should be the first to save lives, in fact, refuse to support Ukraine, the head of state believes.
Such indifferent reaction of the international structures incredibly hit the president himself and the entire Ukrainian people. As an example, social media users remembered the earthquake in Turkey, after which most of the world responded to help, including Ukraine. And now, when a tragedy happened in our state, which experts can compare to an explosion at a nuclear power plant, everyone turned their back on Ukraine.
Requests are ignored
It should be noted that on June 6, the day Russian invaders destroyed the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, a message about Russian Language Day appeared on UN Twitter, at the same time there was no word about war crimes. of the military of the Russian Federation.
Tuesday is Russian Language Day.
follow @UnitedNationsRU for updates on UN work. https://t.co/sX56IduqmW
— United Nations (@UN) June 6, 2023
The organization announced its reaction to the tragedy the following evening. They called the attack “a consequence of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” but did not directly point to Russia’s culpability. The UN also noted that they do not have “access to independent information to verify how the disaster occurred.”
Later, on June 7, in an interview with Bild, Zelensky said that the UN and the Red Cross either did not respond to Ukraine’s request for help, or essentially refused “diplomatic language.” The President admitted that he was “surprised” by such a reaction.
“What is happening now is a tragedy. An ecological catastrophe and a human catastrophe,” the president insisted.
“People and animals have died. From the roofs of flooded houses, people can see drowned people passing by. It can be seen from the other side. It is very difficult to get people out of the occupied part of Kherson region,” He added.
In his evening speech, Zelensky called on the UN and Red Cross to immediately join the rescue of people in the occupied part of the Kherson region.
“Every person who died has a sentence on the existing international architecture, on international organizations that have forgotten how to save lives. If today there is no international organization in this disaster zone, then it is not exists, it means. that it is incapacitated. All relevant appeals from Ukraine, our government is there” , – he said.
The President recalled that Ukraine has repeatedly called for an international observation mission to be sent to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, to clean the mines and all the structures of the station.
“Unfortunately, the world’s attention was not enough then to give it all,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian Red Cross broke away from the International
The Ukrainian Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today published statements of their assistance to the victims of the explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.
In particular, the Ukrainian Red Cross emphasized that it works only in the controlled territory and now the volunteers of the Kherson region are helping people.
“An interview was published in the media, in which the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that there is no Red Cross in the Kherson region. In response to the accusations, we would like to emphasize again that the Ukrainian Red Cross does not have access to the territory no longer controlled by Ukraine, as we are a Ukrainian humanitarian organization that can conduct its activities in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and exclusively on territory controlled by Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Red Cross said in a statement.
The organization assures that more than 50 of their volunteers, together with the State Emergency Service and the National Police, continue to evacuate people from Kherson: “140 people have already been evacuated, most of them people with limited mobility.”
More than 200 Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers are working in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. In particular, in places of temporary accommodation of evacuees and train stations, humanitarian aid is provided to the victims: drinking water, food, clothes.
“We emphasize again that the Ukrainian Red Cross is a Ukrainian humanitarian organization, whose employees and volunteers are Ukrainians,” the statement said.
Journalists also received a comment from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The organization assured that they support the Red Cross Society of Ukraine and local authorities.
“They immediately went into action: their teams have already evacuated hundreds of people from the area,” the ICRC said in a statement.
The main focus of the ICRC is the population’s access to drinking water, the organization said in a statement.
Suspіlne
“Our specialists are cooperating with the Red Cross Society of Ukraine and local authorities, and in the coming days we will deliver humanitarian aid and equipment,” the Red Cross said.
UN agreements
On the evening of June 8, almost on the third day after the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, UN representatives met with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and agreed that the organization would immediately increase the amount of aid and send additional forces in Kherson and other affected regions.
Also, the UN will create groups in Zaporozhye and Kherson, which will be sent to the affected occupied territories of the Left Bank to provide humanitarian aid and evacuate people. However, this will only be possible with safe passage through the occupied territories.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba confirmed that Kyiv provides security for humanitarian operations, now the decision is up to Russia, which must also provide access and provide security guarantees.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.