Official Position of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society regarding the incident in Mykolaiv region during the evacuation of civilians from Kherson
On August 14, during the evacuation of civilians from Kherson, police in Mykolaiv oblast stopped a vehicle belonging to the Kherson Emergency Response Team of Ukrainian Red Cross, removed and transported out the driver and Emergency Response volunteer. As a result, the evacuation mission could not be completed as planned.
The team was evacuating vulnerable people — including a person with an amputation, a three-year-old child, a person with a cancer diagnosis.
The Rapid Response Teams of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society are recognized as part of Ukraine’s civil protection system.
Throughout the war, they have worked side by side with the State Emergency Service, Police, and government authorities, responding daily to shelling sites and emergency situations. The Kherson team evacuates people with limited mobility, people with disabilities, the seriously ill, elderly people, and families with children every day — people for whom volunteer assistance is often the only way to leave dangerous area.
Ukrainian Red Cross Emergency Response Teams’ volunteers have received numerous awards at the state level, and their work exemplifies the auxiliary role of civil society.
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society highly respects Ukraine’s laws and the authority of state bodies, and appeals to the directorate of the National Police in Mykolaiv oblast, the central office of the National Police of Ukraine, the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, and the Commissioner for Human Rights, with request to clarify the circumstances of the incident and to help resolve the matter in order to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.
Such actions carry risks for continuing the humanitarian mission and for helping affected civilians.
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society calls on state authorities to facilitate the access and support to volunteers as they carry out vitally important humanitarian tasks in front-line territories. The safety of civilians and the ability to evacuate people in a timely manner must remain an absolute priority.