"We are not a funeral home." The Red Cross claims they are not responsible for repatriating bodies of Russian soldiers from Ukraine
DIANA KRECHETOVA — MONDAY, 4 APRIL 2022
The Ukrainian and Russian authorities are responsible for repatriating the bodies of dead soldiers to the Russian Federation.
Source: Gerard Pontrandolfi, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representative in Kyiv, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda - Zhyttia
"The authorities are trying to make the ICRC responsible for this. We are not a funeral home. But we can provide everything they need," Pontrandolfi said.
According to him, the ICRC also needs information about the victims in order to inform their families.
"And, to be honest, I don't care what family it is - from Ukraine or Russia. I want to make sure that every parent, every mother has the opportunity to know where her dead child is. And we are ready to support the government in this.
But this is the authorities’ duty to return the bodies", said the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kyiv.
Pontrandolfi also said that the International Committee of the Red Cross did not currently have access to the Ukrainian military captured by the Russian occupiers.
In addition, the Red Cross humanitarian organisation continues to describe the war started by Russia in Ukraine as a "conflict."
On 26 February, the Ukrainian authorities asked the Red Cross to repatriate thousands of bodies back to Russia, while the Russian Federation remained silent about its casualties.
