The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine held a meeting with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Ukraine, Juan-Pedro Scherer, on January 20. The event was convened to discuss a series of incorrect public statements made by the ICRC leadership that caused significant resonance.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Ukraine’s Concerns Regarding the ICRC’s Position
The Ukrainian side expressed deep disappointment regarding the statement made by the ICRC’s regional director for Europe and Central Asia on January 14, 2026. In the mentioned statement, the responsibility of the Russian Federation as an aggressor state and Ukraine, which is defending its people, was effectively placed on the same level concerning the human suffering caused by the war.
“The Ukrainian side emphasized that, unlike the Russian aggressor, Ukraine strikes exclusively at legitimate military targets of the enemy within the exercise of its inherent right to self-defense in accordance with the UN Charter. In this context, any attempts to equate, level, or draw false parallels between Ukraine and Russia are immoral, erroneous, and absolutely unacceptable,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.
During the meeting, ICRC representatives acknowledged the inappropriateness of such comparisons of responsibility and agreed on the necessity to improve the organization’s communication approaches in the future.
Next Steps and Reactions
Juan-Pedro Scherer, head of the ICRC mission in Ukraine, emphasized that he and his colleagues in Kyiv understand the real scale of the humanitarian crisis and personally feel the consequences of attacks from the Russian Federation. During the meeting, the parties agreed to intensify bilateral dialogue, including through the organization of relevant visits. The goal is to ensure a deeper understanding by the ICRC of the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation. Ways to enhance the effectiveness of the ICRC’s work regarding access to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians held in Russian captivity were also discussed.
The ICRC mission is currently not commenting on the visit of its representatives to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Recall that on January 14, the ICRC published a statement saying that “recent strikes on critical infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia have left millions of people almost without electricity, water, and heating amid sub-zero temperatures in Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Belgorod, and other areas.” It was after this statement that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced the summoning of the organization’s representatives.
Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has systematically attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Since the fall of 2025, the shelling of energy facilities has intensified. The Security Service of Ukraine qualifies these strikes as crimes against humanity. It is known that since the beginning of the current heating season, the SBU has recorded 256 air attacks by the Russian Federation on the country’s energy and heating supply facilities.