By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Three staffers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed after Russian shelling hit the charity’s humanitarian mission in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
A statement by the ICRC said two other staffers were injured after shelling hit the site of a planned frontline aid distribution in the village of Virolyubivka, located nearly 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) west of the frontline city of Chasiv Yar.
It said the distribution of aid had not begun, and no residents in the village were affected by the attack.
The statement said ICRC teams are regularly present in the Donetsk region and indicated that the group’s vehicles are clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem.
“The ICRC urgently calls for the respect of international humanitarian law, including by taking every precaution possible to ensure that those engaged in humanitarian activities are not targeted or caught in hostilities,” it said.
The statement quotes ICRC head Mirjana Spoljaric, who condemned the attack, and said it is “unconscionable that shelling would hit an aid distribution site.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to X to demand that nations not remain silent.
“In this war, everything is absolutely clear—Russia sows evil, Ukraine defends life. If anyone wants to hear ‘both sides,’ in Russia, it is only perceived as permission to kill again,” he wrote about the strike. “The world must respond firmly and with principle. Countries and international organizations cannot remain indifferent. Only together can the world force Russia to stop this terror and make Moscow seek peace.”
Russia has not yet commented on the attack.