Ukraine to Confront ICRC Over Statement Comparing Russian and Ukrainian Strikes

Ukraine will summon the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in the country for explanations after Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticized an ICRC statement.

Sybiha said in a post on X on January 15 that Ukraine would summon the head of the ICRC delegation in the country for explanations.

The ICRC said in a social media post that strikes on critical infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia were leaving civilians without electricity, water, and heating in freezing temperatures in places including Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, and Belgorod, and quoted its Europe and Central Asia regional director, Ariane Bauer, as saying such attacks are prohibited when they cause disproportionate harm to civilians.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the statement as “a disgrace,” saying what he described as a “false moral equivalence between an aggressor and a country defending itself is unacceptable,” and arguing that Ukraine acts within international humanitarian law and its right to self-defense.

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Sybiha said the ICRC’s “reputation is in crisis” and accused the organization of “whitewashing Russian crimes,” adding that it had long failed to secure “systematic access to Ukrainian POWs and civilians illegally detained by Russia.”

He also invited those who authorized the statement to “come to Ukraine, and spend a day in a freezing home.” 

Earlier, it was reported that the ICRC condemned a strike that killed Red Cross staff during an aid mission but did not explicitly name Russia as responsible.

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