URCS doesn't communicate with Russian, Belarusian Red Cross organizations – Dotsenko
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) does not have any contacts with the Red Cross organizations of Russia and Belarus, URCS Director General Maksym Dotsenko has said.
"The Ukrainian Red Cross has not had any contacts or ties with the Russian Red Cross since 2014. The story is the same with the Belarusian Red Cross, despite the fact that we are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement," he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine News agency.
The head of the URCS also denied any accusations that the Red Cross is a pro-Russian structure.
He recalled that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement consists of three organizations that are independent from each other: the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and national societies operating in different countries of the world.
"Each of us has our own mission, our own structure and our own management. We are not a branch. We are an independent Ukrainian humanitarian organization that conducts its activities in line with the Ukrainian legislation. Our employees and volunteers are Ukrainians, they are just like the rest citizens live under shelling every day, their houses are also destroyed, and they also lose relatives and friends. Therefore, it makes no sense to talk about a pro-Russian structure in our organization," Dotsenko said.