Ukrainian officials on Saturday called on the Red Cross to help handle the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers that are littered around the country.
In a tweet, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said that the country had reached out to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for aid in the “repatriation of thousands of bodies of Russian soldiers,” the Times of Israel reported. The ambassador’s tweet also included a chart that reiterated Ukraine’s claim that around 3,500 Russian soldiers have been killed during the invasion, so far.
“Don’t let Putin hide [the] scale of tragedy,” the ambassador’s tweet read.
As part of his appeal, Kyslytsya said that the families of the Russians killed in Ukraine deserve the chance “to bury them with dignity.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is aware of requests by Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador and others to repatriate the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in action in Ukraine but has no numbers.
Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya tweeted Saturday that Ukraine has appealed to the ICRC “to facilitate repatriation of thousands of bodies of Russian soldiers” killed during its invasion of Ukraine. An accompanying chart claimed 3,500 Russian troops have been killed.
Kyslytsya tweeted that parents in Russia should have a chance “to bury them with dignity.” “Don’t let (Russian President Vladimir) Putin hide scale of tragedy,” he urged.
Laetitia Courtois, ICRC’s permanent observer to the United Nations told The Associated Press Saturday night that the current security situation “is a primary concern and a limitation for our teams on the ground” and “we therefore cannot confirm numbers or other details.”
She said “the ICRC can act as a neutral intermediary” on the return of bodies and other humanitarian issues in conflict, including clarifying the fate of missing persons, reuniting families, and advocating for the protection of detainees “within its possibilities.”
Ukraine’s general staff has claimed that over 14,000 Russian troops have been killed in the first three weeks of Moscow’s invasion of the country.
In an operational update posted to Facebook, Ukrainian officials said that approximately 14,400 Russian soldiers have been killed.
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