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10 OCT 2024
Statement by the Memorial Human Rights Defence Center Council: Rescuing civilians in the Kursk region is the responsibility of Russian authorities
10 OCT 2024
The Russian authorities should immediately respond to Ukraine's proposal regarding evacuation of the civilian population from the part of Russia's Kursk Region which has been occupied by Ukrainian troops. More than 1,000 local residents — those who have been unable to evacuate on their own, mainly elderly and sick people, as well as families with children — remain in this area at the moment. Russian troops are conducting massive strikes on these territories, using artillery and aviation. The lives and health of civilians there are at risk.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated their readiness to undertake efforts in order to evacuate the civilian population from this territory, both towards the part of Kursk region under Russian control as well as towards Ukraine. The first such statements have been made as early as August 2024. Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, and Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, have publicly declared this intention. Later, Lubinets sent a letter to Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova, drawing her attention to the problem and asking her to respond to the Ukrainian side's proposal.
The Ukrainian side cannot evacuate the inhabitants of the occupied territories of Russia unilaterally in an organised manner. It is obvious that it is only possible to organise a humanitarian corridor across the front line if the two belligerent parties agree on this. However, organising relocation of civilians from this territory towards Ukraine requires a statement by the Russian authorities that there are no objections on their part. Without this, the Ukrainian side is justifiably concerned about provocations and speculative statements which may be made by the Russian side about deportation of Russian citizens, etc. Meanwhile, the issue in question is possible removal of only those civilians who agree to be evacuated; moreover, the Ukrainian authorities are ready to facilitate further transportation of these people to Russia via a third country.
However, so far there has been no reaction from any Russian official representative. Without such a reaction and without the involvement of the Russian authorities in trying to save our country's citizens, their lives may be lost.
We call on Tatiana Nikolaevna Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, to immediately undertake all necessary actions in order to to establish a dialogue between the two belligerent parties in order to save from death more than a thousand Russian citizens who are on the territory of our country occupied by AFU.
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