Red Cross Halts Dnipro Operations After Deadly Russian Strike Kills Three Employees

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has temporarily halted operations at its office in Dnipro following an attack that claimed the lives of several staff members. A representative of the ICRC in Ukraine confirmed that three employees were killed and two others injured in a strike on September 12.

The attack took place in Viroliubivka, a village near Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Region, where Russian forces targeted the area surrounding a local enterprise, as reported by the regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. Among the damage was a truck loaded with humanitarian supplies and a vehicle belonging to the Red Cross team.

“We have decided to suspend activities at our Dnipro office for the time being,” said ICRC spokesperson Oleksandr Vlasenko. No specific date has been provided for the resumption of operations.

Although the strike did not directly hit the Dnipro office, ongoing war in the region continue to pose a threat to Red Cross staff, especially those deployed near active combat zones. The team had been preparing to deliver firewood and fuel briquettes to residents in northern Donetsk when the attack occurred. “If the distribution had been in progress during the strike, the casualties could have been significantly higher,” Vlasenko added.

The ICRC has not explicitly attributed responsibility for the attack, with Vlasenko stating that the organization cannot definitively identify the party responsible.

Addressing the Red Cross' neutral stance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced his disappointment during the 20th Annual Yalta European Strategy Meeting, stating, “It is disappointing, deeply disappointing, to see that the Red Cross, in its official communication, was afraid to even say that this was a Russian strike.”

Previously, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine started a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on violating the laws and customs of war. The Russian troops are suspected to have used barrel artillery to strike the cars of the ICRC.