OTTAWA — The International Committee of the Red Cross is asking Canada not to mix promises of humanitarian aid with announcements about military support and sanctions when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
ICRC director of operations Dominik Stillhart says he understands the government wants to show its support for Ukrainians in their time of need.
But he says lumping promises of humanitarian assistance with military support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia threatens the neutrality that aid groups require to safely operate there and elsewhere.
While Stillhart did not identify any specific examples, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday announced $50 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Ukraine while also levying new sanctions against dozens of Russian officials.
Stillhart says the ICRC has also seen some questions from Canada’s Ukrainian diaspora after Red Cross president Peter Maurer visited Moscow last week.
But Stillhart says the visit, which followed a similar stop in Kyiv, was aimed at ensuring humanitarian aid is able to reach those in Ukraine who need it, and to try to co-ordinate evacuation routes for civilians trapped in Mariupol and other cities.
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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer gestures while speaking during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following their talks in Moscow, Russia on March 24, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool Photo via AP)
