Geneva

The Red Cross said on Wednesday (June 14) that it had visited 1500 prisoners of war (POW) on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has stressed the importance of access to both Russian and Ukrainian POWs.

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The ICRC said such visits are of importance to check detention conditions, offering support and sometimes books, hygiene items and other personal necessities. The visits are also vital to relay information between the prisoners and their loved ones.

"For the prisoners of war and their families who have been able to share news, the impact is... immeasurable," Ariane Bauer, ICRC's regional director for Europe and Central Asia, told reporters.

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The ICRC and its partners have till now delivered around 2500 personal messages between POWs and their families in the Ukraine conflict.

The organisation said it had also helped provide around 5,500 families with information on the fate of their loved ones in the conflict.

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Visiting the POWs forms the core to ICRC's mission which is enshrined in the Geneva conventions.

Geneva conventions define the laws of war.

Red Cross not pushing hard enough, feels Zelensky 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly criticised the Red Cross on the ultra-sensitive subject of POW visits. Zelensky has accused the Red Cross of not pushing hard enough to gain access to Ukraine troops who are captured by Russian forces.

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The organisation sees it as a vital part of its mandate to "access prisoners of war on both sides", ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric told reporters last week.

"We are progressing," she added.

The ICRC has said that it has access to POWs held by Russia including in recent weeks. However, the ICRC has not revealed breakdown of how many POWs on either side of the conflict it has visited on either side 

The ICRC never reveals such numbers, nor any details on the conditions it finds in detention centres as part of its unrelenting commitment to neutrality.

Bauer acknowledged that this commitment during times of conflict, particularly Ukraine war, is often "misunderstood".

"Neutrality is not a moral position. It's a tool that helps us work and get access to prisoners of war, to populations in difficult situations," she said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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