Kiev invites UN, ICRC to Ukraine-held parts of Kursk

KIEV

Ukraine on Monday said it had asked the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to verify the situation in areas of Russia's Kursk region seized by Kiev, in a move branded as “provacation” by Russia.

Ukraine's army caught Russian troops off guard when it attacked the region of Kursk on Aug. 6, advancing for miles into Russian territory and seizing dozens of towns and villages.

"I instructed the Ukrainian foreign ministry to officially invite the U.N. and ICRC to join humanitarian efforts in the Kursk region," Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.

"Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law," he continued.

The Kremlin branded the invitation as a "provocation."

"This is a pure provocation. And we expect a sober assessment of such provocative statements" by the U.N. and ICRC, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukraine has been careful to present its army in a different light than the Russian forces that are occupying around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

"From the very first days of the Kursk operation, the Ukrainian Defense Forces, as a civilized European army, have demonstrated high professionalism and full compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law," the Foreign Ministry said.

But Moscow has denounced the offensive that has pushed some 150,000 Russian civilians to evacuate.

The statement came as ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric arrived in Moscow for a planned visit to discuss a range of issues, a few days after shelling killed three Ukrainian ICRC employees in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has insisted from the very start that it would expel Ukrainian troops from the region and appeared to be on the back foot until last week, when it said it had recaptured parts of the Kursk region.