Zelenskyy: "The Red Cross forbids the use of its emblem during evacuations of Ukrainian civilians"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke critically of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in his daily briefing referring to ICRC's ban on using its emblem for evacuation vehicles transporting Ukrainians out of cities under the Russian siege.
Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, video address of 8 March
Quote: "You know, I was told that the International Committee of the Red Cross forbids us to use their emblem on our vehicles during the evacuation. We are performing a humanitarian mission. The Red Cross forbids it as if this sign was their property. And this is significant, that says a lot. It says that some people, very influential people, have chosen to cross Ukrainians out [of life]."
Details: The President of Ukraine assured that he would not allow anyone to write Ukrainians off.
Background: On 8 March, Sumy, surrounded by Russian forces, was allowed a "green corridor". The first stage of evacuation has begun. The time frame of the humanitarian corridor is from 10 am to 9 pm.
Elsewhere: The Russian Federation is disrupting the evacuation of Mariupol again. Russian troops launched an attack on Mariupol, preventing people from evacuating the city. Ukraine has been trying to evacuate Mariupol residents for several days, but Russian troops are still disrupting proceedings.
Additional information: according to Zelenskyy, one child has already died of dehydration in Mariupol.
