Ukraine blames Russia for deaths of Spanish and Canadian foreign aid workers
Russian drone strike in Kyiv
Kyiv, on Sunday (September 10) blamed Russia for the death of two aid workers, one Canadian and the other Spanish, in eastern Ukraine. It was previously reported that Russian shelling hit a van which was carrying a team of four people working with a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation near the war-battered city of Bakhmut.
What do we know about the aid workers’ death?
Kyiv accused Moscow’s troops of killing Emma Igual, a Spanish citizen, and Anthony Ihnat, a Canadian citizen, both working for the NGO Road to Relief. They said two German citizens working for the aid group had also been injured after the Russian shelling in the eastern Donetsk region.
The organisation on its Instagram page said that the volunteers were helping evacuate the wounded from the front-line areas and were trapped inside the van as it flipped over and caught fire after being struck by shells near the two of Chasiv Yar.
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The other two volunteers were identified as German medical volunteer Ruben Mawick and Swedish volunteer Johan Mathias Thyr, who were seriously wounded, according to the organisation.
At the time, they also said that the organisation was unable to find the van’s fourth passenger, Igual. The death of the 32-year-old Spanish citizen, who was also the organisation’s director, was confirmed by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
“Unfortunately, I can confirm a missile hit a vehicle in which this Spanish worker was travelling who was working for a humanitarian NGO in Ukraine. We have verbal confirmation of her death,” said Albares, during a press conference in New Delhi where he was in the midst of attending the G20 Summit.
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‘A painful, irreparable loss’: Kyiv
The Ukrainian officials called the deaths of the two volunteers, “a painful, irreparable loss” and said that the aid workers had dedicated themselves to limiting the harm to civilians caught in the conflict. The volunteers also carried out evacuations and distributed humanitarian relief to those affected, said the officials in Kyiv.
According to the aid organisation, the volunteers were on their way to assess the needs of civilians on the outskirts of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian city that witnessed some of the longest and bloodiest battles before it was occupied by Russian forces back in May.
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Earlier this year, 33-year-old United States medic Pete Reed was killed near Bakhmut when his evacuation vehicle was hit by a missile, back in February. In May, AFP video journalist Arman Soldin was killed in Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut by missile fire.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
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