Ukraine war puts international law and civilians under threat, says ICRC

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries as Russia's assault on key cities continues

Refugees with disabilities and their caregivers arrive at the Hungarian border town of Zahony from Ukraine. Getty Images

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Innocent civilians are coming under threat in Ukraine since the conflict started, putting international humanitarian laws on the line, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday, as the group upped its support.

Moscow ordered its troops to invade neighbouring Ukraine last week, launching an assault by land, sea and air.

The fighting has resulted in more than 875,000 refugees fleeing over the borders into neighbouring countries.

The assault is the biggest attack on a European country since the Second World War.

This map shows the locations of known Russian military strikes and ground attacks inside Ukraine after Russia announced a military invasion of Ukraine. AP

“Sadly, there appears to be a range of breaches [of international humanitarian law] but we will have to wait,” Helen Durham, the ICRC’s Director of International Law and Policy, told The National.

“We have been giving a démarche to all parties to the conflict, reminding them of their obligations such as protecting civilians, ensuring the dignified treatment of detainees and protection of cultural property,” Ms Durham said during a trip to Dubai.

The ICRC is continuing to talk to both sides, she said.

“It's difficult to assess what has and what hasn’t been followed,” she said.

“We see there’s a lot of frustration on both sides, but our concerns have been raised in a bilateral, confidential manner.”

Ms Durham said she could not elaborate further on the apparent breaches.

“This is being passed to all parties in the conflict and we will continue to talk with them,” she said.

The agency, which had about 600 aid workers stationed across Ukraine before the conflict, has had to move some of its employees out of the capital Kyiv due to the fighting.

Damage after the shelling of buildings in central Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

Workers from a local construction company weld anti-tank obstacles to be placed on roads around Kyiv as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues. Reuters

Anti-war protesters attach sunflowers to barriers in front of the Russian embassy. Reuters

Ukrainian volunteers prepare food for displaced people outside Lviv railway station in western Ukraine. AP

A Ukrainian soldier holds an anti-tank launcher north-east of Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian refugees rest at Warsaw East train station in Poland. EPA

Children look out from a carriage window as a train prepares to depart from a station in Lviv to the town of Uzhhorod near the border with Slovakia. AFP

A girl who fled Ukraine is reunited with her father in Medyka, south-eastern Poland. AP Photo

Tears outside a house damaged by a Russian airstrike in Gorenka, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

A civil defence member is poised to shoot as a vehicle approaches a checkpoint in Gorenka. AP Photo

A Ukrainian civil defence member in the garden of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike. AP Photo

Members of the US Army 3rd Infantry Division board a plane bound for Germany in Savannah, Georgia. EPA

Prayers for peace in Ukraine at the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square. AFP

A woman (right) hugs an arriving passenger from a train carrying refugees at Berlin's central station. EPA

Firefighters battle a blaze in a Kharkiv police building hit by shelling. AFP

A Ukrainian woman makes a phone call after crossing the Slovakian border. AFP

A doctor takes shelter in the basement of a Kyiv perinatal centre. Reuters

Debris which locals say was caused by shelling in separatist-controlled Horlivka, Donetsk. Reuters

MPs in London give a standing ovation to Ukraine ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, who was in the public gallery. AP

Distraught women and children fleeing Ukraine wait to enter Poland at the Korczowa crossing. Getty

Newborn Ivan lies next to his mother as they shelter in the basement of a Kyiv perinatal centre. Reuters

Firefighters hand water to people in a Ukrainian train full of refugees in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees queue to file for residency permits at Prague's police headquarters. AFP

Firefighters work to contain a blaze in buildings housing the Kharkiv regional police department. AFP

A woman and her children sit in a tent in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter. AP

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at the Kharkiv National University building, which city officials said was damaged by Russian shelling. Reuters

An elderly woman comforts a child as they take shelter inside an underground station in Kyiv. Reuters

People queue at a pharmacy in central Kyiv. Reuters

A woman is consoled by a volunteer after fleeing from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Siret, Romania. Reuters

A Ukrainian civilian in the city of Zhytomyr practises throwing petrol bombs. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses after an interview with Reuters in Kyiv. Reuters

A blast is seen at Kyiv's TV tower. Reuters

A girl in Siret, Romania, covers herself with a blanket after fleeing from Ukraine. Reuters

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, acknowledges applause from US first lady Jill Biden as they attend President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address in Washington. AFP

A man walks past the remains of Russian military vehicles in Bucha, close to Kyiv. AFP

Civilians cross a river on a blown-up bridge on Kyiv's northern front. Defending the capital is a 'key priority', Ukraine's president has said. AFP

Russian aircraft on the ground at Luninets Airbase, Belarus, about 50 kilometres north of the Ukrainian border. AFP

People look at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha. AP

A woman with a child who fled from the war in Ukraine reunite with their family after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland. AP

Animal keeper Kirilo Trantin comforts an elephant at Kyiv Zoo. AP

An armed man stands by the remains of a Russian military vehicle in Bucha. AP

Ukrainian families say goodbye as they prepare to board a bus to Poland at Lviv, western Ukraine. AP

Paramedics move a man who was wounded by shelling in a residential area of Mariupol, south-eastern Ukraine. AP

Rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike in Zhytomyr. Reuters

US actor and director Sean Penn attends a press briefing at the Presidential Office in Kyiv. Reuters

Demonstrators participate in a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Lafayette Square in Washington. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers rest while others eat near the front line with Russian troops in northern Kyiv. AP

A barricade made of trams, buses and sand bags is seen through the window of car in the northern part of Kyiv. AP

Members of the European Parliament applaud after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech at a special session to debate its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

Ambassadors and diplomats walk out as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (on screen) speaks during a recorded message at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. EPA

International humanitarian law is designed to protect civilians and critical infrastructure such as water and power systems from attack during conflict.

This week, the ICRC has made an international appeal for 250 million Swiss francs to provide food, water and shelter to millions of people in Ukraine.

“If there’s not an international response to support those being made homeless in freezing conditions, to give children some degree of medical support and mental health support, the range of things to keep you alive then there will be more suffering,” she said.

Ukrainians have flooded into neighbouring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania, while an estimated 100,000 have been internally displaced.

Ms Durham said parties to the conflict should know that “war has limits, there are things they cannot do, weapons they cannot use and we need to stand really strong on that".

She added that there needs to be pressure from the public, diplomats and decision-makers globally on the parties involved to stop the war.

“If the parties don’t follow international humanitarian law, then there will be more needs,” she said.