The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during the evacuation of Ukrainian defenders from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, documented the personal data of about 1,800 military personnel.
ICRC Director General Robert Mardini stated this, Ukrinform reports.
At the same time, he noted that the organization does not have data on the total number of prisoners of war.
"During the evacuation of the defenders of Azovstal, we were able to register about 1,800 people, hoping that we would be able to visit them, but, unfortunately, we cannot do this," Mardini said.
He also acknowledged that his organization cannot guarantee the safety of Ukrainian prisoners of war after they fell into the hands of Russian occupiers. "Giving such guarantees is simply beyond our capacity," the ICRC director-general explained.
Mardini said that at present, representatives of the organization he leads managed to visit only a few hundred prisoners of war from both sides. At the same time, he refused to discuss the conditions of detention of these prisoners of war, citing confidentiality.
"But we know that there are thousands of others we don't yet have access to. We will continue to demand access to all prisoners of war, guided by our humanitarian obligations and the mandate under the Geneva Conventions," he assured.
On August 19, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, accused international organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, of keeping silent at a time when Russia was starving, torturing, and killing Ukrainian prisoners.
