Official Statement by the Ukrainian Red Cross Regarding the Incident in Mykolaiv Region During the Evacuation of Civilians from Kherson
On 14 August, while evacuating civilians from Kherson to a safer area, police officers in Mykolaiv Region stopped a vehicle operated by the Kherson regional emergency response team of the Ukrainian Red Cross and prevented the driver from continuing the evacuation. As a result, the evacuation could not be completed as planned.
The team was evacuating people from vulnerable groups, including a person with an amputation, a three-year-old child, a person diagnosed with cancer, and members of their families.
The Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response teams are officially recognised as part of Ukraine’s civil protection system. Throughout the war, they have worked side by side with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the police and local authorities, responding daily to attacks and emergencies. Every day, the Kherson emergency response team evacuates people with limited mobility, people with disabilities, people who are seriously ill, older people and families with children — people for whom assistance from volunteers is often the only way to leave an unsafe area.
Volunteers serving in the Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response teams have received official recognition and numerous state-level awards, and their work is an example of the auxiliary role played by civil society.
The Ukrainian Red Cross respects Ukrainian legislation and the mandates of state authorities and calls on the Main Department of the National Police in Mykolaiv Region, the central office of the National Police of Ukraine, the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights to clarify the circumstances of the incident and support its resolution in order to prevent similar situations in the future.
Such actions pose risks to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and support to affected civilians, as any forced interruption of an evacuation operation creates additional risks both for the people in the vehicle and for those still waiting to be evacuated from an unsafe area.
The Ukrainian Red Cross calls on state authorities to facilitate the safe and unimpeded work of volunteers as they carry out life-saving humanitarian activities in frontline areas. The safety of civilians and the timely evacuation of people must remain the highest priority.