- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Russia Insists on Thorough Investigation into Aid Worker’s Death in Ukraine

Subscribe
Moscow is calling for an unbiased and thorough investigation into Thursday’s death of a Red Cross humanitarian worker in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Updated 4:23 p.m. Moscow Time

MOSCOW, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow is calling for an unbiased and thorough investigation into Thursday’s death of a Red Cross humanitarian worker in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed late on Thursday that one of its delegates to Ukraine, Swiss citizen Laurent DuPasquier, was killed in heavy artillery bombardment of central Donetsk.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had "noted the hasty reaction by the Ukrainian authorities, who hurried to shed all responsibility for the death of a member of this reputed international humanitarian organization."

"Kiev is unwilling to admit an evident thing: that district of Donetsk was controlled by the self-defense forces and was shelled from positions held by Ukrainian troops,” the ministry said.

“We categorically condemn such actions that are a blatant violation of the international humanitarian law. We insist on an unbiased and thorough investigation into the killing of the ICRC worker and on bringing those guilty to justice,” the statement reads.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed late on Thursday that one of its delegates to Ukraine, Swiss citizen Laurent DuPasquier, was killed in heavy artillery bombardment of central Donetsk.

UN Secretary-General Ban KI-moon said that the incident emphasized the fragility of a ceasefire in the east of Ukraine and called on “all concerned to strictly adhere to their commitments under the Minsk Memorandum agreed on 19 September.”

Ukraine has been engulfed in a violent internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev began its military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country. The conflict claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people, according to the UN.

The sides agreed on a ceasefire at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine held in Minsk on September 5. Another meeting of the group on September 19 resulted in a memorandum, specifying implementation of the ceasefire, which involves the creation of a 30-kilometer (18-mile) buffer zone, withdrawal of all heave weapons from residential areas and the deployment of the OSCE monitoring mission.

Since the establishment of the ceasefire regime, the conflicting sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the agreement. However, the OSCE stated that the truce was generally holding.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала