Families of POWs Rally in Protest Outside Red Cross Headquarters in Kyiv

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians continue to be held captive in Russia. Families of captured marines held a rally near the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine, demanding an explanation of why the families do not have any information about their relatives.

The campaign was held in Kyiv on August 29, on the Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Ukraine, the Media Initiative for Human Rights reported.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights explains that the ICRC is the only organization with the mandate to visit places where prisoners of war are held. But they can do this only with the permission of the administration of the prison, detention center or colony, which Russia almost never allows.

“Today, on the Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Ukraine, the families of marines gathered to remind not only of the dead but also of those soldiers and civilians who remain in Russian captivity or have gone missing. This is a great grief and stress for every family. They need public support,” wrote the Media Initiative for Human Rights.

Previously the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that not a single soldier released from Russian captivity had seen representatives of the ICRC while detained.