Ukraine called on international organizations to join humanitarian measures in the Kursk region of Russia and pledged to strictly observe international law during hostilities in the Kursk region.
This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that from the first days of the Kursk operation, the Ukrainian army showed "high professionalism and full compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law." Civilians in the territory of the Kursk region received humanitarian aid and had the opportunity to leave the areas of hostilities.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent a note to the United Nations with a request to join the measures of humanitarian regulation in Kursk Region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent a note to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The organization is also asked to join humanitarian regulation measures and monitor the principles of their implementation in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Protection of the Civilian Population in Time of War.
"Ukraine confirms its unwavering compliance with international obligations in the specified areas and is ready to provide comprehensive assistance to the activities of employees and ICRC in the specified UN territories," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.
Updated at 2:54 p.m.: Kremlin spokesman Dmytry Peskov called Ukraineʼs appeal to international organizations a "provocation." Russia expects that the UN and ICRC will not accept this invitation.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Heorhii Tykhyi noted that Peskovʼs statement only shows that Russia ignores the humanitarian needs of its citizens and does not allow international observers to see the real situation in the Kursk region.
The Kursk operation
For the first time, it became known about the offensive of the Defense Forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation on August 6 — then Russian telegram channels and "military corps" wrote about it.
Ukraine officially confirmed the operation only on August 12. As of September 6, Ukraine controlled at least 1 300 km² and 100 settlements in this region, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured more than 600 occupiers.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky informed that Russia had pulled approximately 60 000 of its troops from other areas of the front in Ukraine to the Kursk region.
For self-defense, the Ukrainian military formed a buffer zone on the territory of the Kursk region. On August 15, Ukraine created the first military command post there.